A (Under)Tale of Determination
by TrueUndeadHero
Summary: Frisk, an orphan in Ebott Valley, gets lost during a picnic outing and falls into a magical and amazing world of Monsters long considered to be myth. But something dark is brewing in their world, and it may be up to Frisk to solve it and save everyone. A collaboration with Author-of-the-Insane.
1. Toriel

Long ago, when the Earth was both young and new, two races lived together in relative harmony; The Humans, and the Monsters. Together, the two races built walls, cities, helping one another in an effort to continue their peaceful coexistence.

Then one day, a monster was killed by a human. The human who attacked the monster was merciless, justifying their action with only one reason, fear. They began to tell the others their reason, and those they told also became afraid. In time, that fear spread. This fear was quite simple. Humans had a single weakness, a single power that the Monsters held over them. A Human soul could be absorbed by these monsters and harnessed for its seemingly endless power.

Soon, a war raged. For several years, monsters and humans fought against one another, but the monsters were weak. For you see, it would have taken the soul of every single monster combined to equal that of a pure human soul. Countless monsters were slaughtered, and yet, there was not a single human casualty. A few monsters managed to survive, but they lived in terror and hid from their former allies.

It became all too clear who the victor was, and soon the leaders of both races met on the edge of Mount Ebott. It was here that the monsters surrendered, and the humans emerged victorious.

The humans gathered their best wizards and mages, seven all together, and they forced the monsters under Mount Ebott. With a single magic spell, an impenetrable barrier was formed, forever sealing the monsters away. In time, the tales of the War of Humans and Monsters was slowly erased from history.

These seemingly forgotten tales were transformed into stories that were told to children. Those children grew up and told their children, and the tales faded from truth to legend, legends to myth, and myth to obscurity.

Only one thing continued, and it remained as a symbol. Mount Ebott, in the Kingdom of Retsnom. It remained a constant reminder that there may be some truth to the old legends. However, many just considered it a normal mountain.

Albeit, with a strange 'curse'.

It was said that those who climbed the mountain never return. Throughout history, seven children had vanished after venturing up that treacherous mountain, a story that kept most travelers away from the mountain.

Except one.

…..

For as long as they could remember, Frisk had always been alone. Their family had left them in the care of Ebott Valley Orphanage, a small place that sat near the edge of the infamous mountain. Growing up at the basin of this legendary landmark, Frisk knew every story about the War of Humans and Monsters, and about the seven children who vanished. Any normal child would have been terrified, or perhaps even skeptical about growing up in a supposedly dangerous location.

But not Frisk. You see, Frisk was full of Determination. They did not back down easily, nor were they scared by old legends and scary bedtime stories. In fact, Frisk was fascinated by Mount Ebott, and could often be found staring up at its summit, dreaming about the adventures they could find.

…..

It was a dark, moonlit night. A kind of night where the world seemed to stand still, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft wind as it passed through the narrow valley. The lights in every home were out, the streets all laid quiet, and at the calming hour of 10 o'clock, Lady Magpie walked down the stairs. She yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stumbled towards the front door. Her feet scuffling the floor, barely raising an inch.

She placed her hand on the large deadbolt lock, lifting it to slide into its place when she glanced to the floor. Underneath her pink bunny slippers laid an assortment of envelopes, packages, magazines and papers. Her hand slipped away as she knelt down and began to pick up the letters when he spied the face of a young man on a magazine titled "How to Attract Singles!".

Lady Magpie raised an eyebrow before dropping everything she had once gathered to pick up the magazine. Standing up with a yawn, she began to walk away from the door, flipping through the pages with a piqued interest.

Lying at the top of the staircase, hidden under a thick woolen red blanket, Frisk watched Lady Magpie, just out of sight as she walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Frisk shook their head and sighed as they came out from under the blanket, wrapping it around themselves as they walked down the stairs. Frisk locked the door first, sliding the deadbolt into place. They then gathered up the mail.

"She is so scatterbrained sometimes." Frisk muttered, stacking the mail on the small side table.

With the mail sorted and the door locked, Frisk threw the blanket on their head and tip toed down the stairs. Avoiding the creaky third step, Frisk made headway up the stairs. There were windows to lock, and there were bedtime stories to read. Although it was a tiring task, and one that Frisk had always done since their arrival to the orphanage some odd years ago, Frisk found joy in the activities.

Finally, their nightly duties were done, Frisk crawled into bed. As they settled under the covers, they stared out the window at Mount Ebott. Frisk would never tell and of their friends, but they felt strangely drawn to the mountain, like there was something there that they needed to do.

Still, Lady Magpie would never allow it. While the stories of monsters may not have been real, seven missing children were all too real, and they were the only reason Frisk never went farther than the base.

…..

One saturday afternoon, Lady Magpie took all of her young charges on a picnic. It was a monthly tradition, no matter what the weather. The old bus came to a screeching halt at the mountain path that led to Lady Magpie's 'Secret Camping Spot'. As always, Magpie was the first to descend the bus steps.

One by one, her twelve little orphans came down from the bus, Frisk taking the rear to ensure no one was left behind.

"Alright children!" Lady Magpie called. "Today is the day of our annual picnic! From what I have been told, the weather shall be absolutely divine."

The children all smiled. While they all thought that Lady Magpie was a few cards short of a full deck, they loved her, and thoroughly enjoyed the picnic.

"Now, do you all have your backpacks?"

"Yes Lady Magpie!" The children all responded in near perfect unison.

"Excellent." Lady Magpie squeed. "I do not want a repeat of last year. Right, Toby?"

A small boy wearing a fox hoodie (complete with ears and a tail) blushed hard. Frisk gave them a pat on the head to cheer them up.

"Now, children." magpie continued. "By now, I'm sure you all know where my Secret Camping Spot resides, but just in case, you all have been given a map."

Frisk smirked, knowing that they had been the one to slip the map into each of the backpacks.

"We will only be out here for about four hours, for we need to be back home by sunset. After all, we don't want anyone to be taken by the monsters, do we?"

All of the children giggled at Lady Magpie's joke. Frisk didn't though. Instead, their attention seemed to be elsewhere. Amongst the laughter of their friends, Frisk heard a new laugh. It was higher pitched, and seemed to be coming from somewhere in the distance.

"Alright children!" Magpie called, pulling Frisk out of their reverie. "Ready? Forward, March!"

The children all began marching like little tin soldiers, even counting to four with each step. Frisk followed them for awhile, but was drawn away by that same laugh. Unable to contain their curiosity, Frisk branched away from the group, following the laugh deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Where is it coming from?" Frisk wondered aloud.

The laugh erupted again, but it seemed to be getting louder. And louder. And louder. And louder. Eventually, the dense trees gave way, revealing an old cavern, most likely an old mining entrance, long since abandoned and covered with moss, vines, and ivy.

"Is someone in there?" Frisk called from the outside of the cave.

Nobody responded. Frisk looked around the cave, then took a tentative step forward. It was pitch black in the cave, the little light provided by the sun seemingly devoured by the endless darkness. Taking a deep breath, Frisk continued on, keeping their hands out so they wouldn't run into anything.

"I know you're in here!" Frisk called. "My name's Frisk!"

As if to answer their call, the laugh seemingly echoed through the cave, much louder than before. In shock, Frisk covered their ears, stumbling forward. As they did, their foot snagged on a rather thick entanglement of vines. Rather than simply tripping and falling on their face, Frisk continued to fall. The air rushed around them, as realization struck.

They had fallen into some sort of pit.

Screaming in terror, Frisk closed their eyes, praying for a miracle. The ground came to greet them with a loud thud. Then everything went black.

…..

When Frisk opened their eyes, they were surprised to find that they were not that badly hurt. A small scrape on their left knee seemed to be the only injury sustained from the fall. Sitting up, Frisk took off their backpack, rummaging around until they found a small box of band-aids. They quickly applied one, thankful they had thought to bring them since Lady Magpie had probably forgotten.

Standing up and slipping the backpack back on, Frisk took a look around. They appeared to be in a strange field of golden flowers. Upon further investigation,they turned out to be buttercups.

"What are buttercups doing in a cave?" Frisk wondered aloud.

That's when a second question struck them.

"And for that matter, how am I able to see them? Where is this light coming from?"

"Howdy!" a voice suddenly called out.

Frisk nearly jumped in shock before turning around. To their utter surprise, a large buttercup was smiling at them.

"I'm Flowey!" the flower introduced. "Flowey the Flower."

Frisk blinked in utter confusion. Flowey let out a giggle at Frisk's dumbfounded expression.

"You must be new to the underground." Flowey remarked.

Frisk gave a slow nod, still reeling from the fact that a FLOWER was talking. Flowey let out another giggle.

"Poor little human." it said. "You must be so confused. Why don't you let little ole me show you the ropes."

There was a strange sound, like wind rustling around them. Then, a strange red heart appeared in the center of Frisk's chest. When it appeared, Frisk's body took on a strange, red aura that seemed to surround them.

"What the-"

"That's your Soul!" Flowey interrupted. "Everything that makes you YOU is contained in that tiny little heart. It's very weak right now, but if you gain LOVE, then it will grow stronger."

"LOVE?" Frisk repeated, still freaking out a bit.

"Don't worry," Flowey replied. "I'll help you."

Suddenly, five strange white pellets surrounded Flowey's… face.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through little….. White….. Friendliness pellets!"

Frisk raised an eyebrow. Something about this flower didn't sit right.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Flowey asked. "Take one."

Frisk tentatively reached up, grasping one of the pellets. Almost immediately, they screamed in pain as black marks began to travel up Frisk's arm. The second one immediately whizzed towards their other hand while to more traveled towards their feet. The fifth one embedded itself in Frisk's forehead.

Unimaginable pain coursed through Frisk's body as they screamed, falling to the ground. Those same black marks began to appear all over their body, the edges of the marks surrounding the little red heart on their chest.

Looking up, Frisk saw Flowey's face. It's once simplistically cute face was contorting into a longer, more horrendous version. This evil face bared its crooked teeth into a wicked smile as its eyes sank into its head, leaving deep wrinkled line across the face.

"You idiot!" Flowey chastised, its voice deepening to a demonic tone. "In this world, it's KILL or BE killed! Who would waste such an excellent opportunity?!"

Frisk suddenly became surrounded by the glowing white death pellets, their heart glowing brightly in their chest. Frisk's expression turned to one of sheer panic as the white pellets began to close in on them. Flowey laughing maniacally.

"DIE!" Flowey cackled.

Frisk knelt down, watching as the surrounding pellets began to close in on them. Then, from out of nowhere, a bright light began to shine from somewhere behind the evil flower. Flowey laughed loudly, completely unaware of the oncoming light. Suddenly, the light grew brighter and brighter, drawing Flowey's attention away from Frisk. As the malicious plant turned around, its confused expression grew into one of fear as Flowey burst into flames. Flowey screamed, its voice baring inhuman tones as it shrunk and sunk into the ground to get away from the flames. As they vanished, so did the pellets.

Emerging from the shadows, Frisk saw what appeared to be a white anthropomorphic female goat. She was wearing a long, purple robe with a silver and blue collar and an odd symbol on her chest. She approached Frisk slowly so as not to scare them.

"What a terrible creature," she remarked, her voice sweet and rhythmic like a lullaby. "Torturing such a poor innocent youth..."

She bent down on one knee, helping Frisk to their feet. Frisk visibly flinched, Flowey's words ringing in their ears. The woman gently shushed Frisk, holding out her arms warmly.

"Do not be afraid, my child." She whispered. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. What is your name, young one?"

Frisk looked up at Toriel, the fear subsiding as they realized that Toriel truly meant no harm. One by one, Toriel pulled the pellets off of Frisk, burning them until they faded from existence. With the last one gone, Frisk's strength returned, and they were finally able to speak.

"Frisk..." they replied softly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Frisk." Toriel replied. "You are the first human to fall down here in a long time."

Toriel then stood up, holding out her hand.

"Come." she said. "I will guide you through the catacombs to my home."

Eager to get out of the buttercup field, and grateful to have found a friendly face, Frisk eagerly took her hand. Toriel led Frisk out of the field and deeper into the cave.

…..

After a few minutes of walking, the caves widened to reveal a large, ornately carved ruins made out of a strange purple stone. The caves seemed to expand forever, tunnels and passages coming in and out of this area.

"Whoa..." Frisk gasped.

Toriel giggled.

"It is rather impressive to newcomers." Toriel admitted. "But these are but the Ruins, formerly known as Home."

Frisk blinked in confusion.

"Home?" they asked.

Toriel shrugged, her smile fading somewhat.

"The Monster King… Asgore… was never very good at naming things."

Frisk wanted to ask her more, but had a gut feeling that it wasn't a good idea. They came to a large older building, surrounded by large ruined walls, clearly a castle gatehouse from long ago. The two walked through the large door frame, where a gate most likely was some years ago.

"There is one thing I must warn you about the Ruins." she explained. "Do you see those raised stones over there?"

Frisk looked to were Toriel was pointing, noting six raised stones. Near a pile of rubble.

"Those are part of a puzzle." she explained. "You'll find that the Ruins are full of many different puzzles, each with their own unique solution. The puzzles serve as both diversions, as well as door keys. To traverse the Ruins, you must solve the puzzles in order to venture forward."

Toriel then walked forward, walking over four of the six stones in an intricate pattern. After stepping on the final stone, the wall slid away, revealing a door to the next room. Frisk looked at the door and smiled.

"Reminds me of that funhouse at the carnival Lady Magpie would take us to."

Toriel smiled at the analogy.

"Then I imagine you will enjoy your stay here."

Toriel held out her hand again and Frisk took it. Together, they walked through the newly raised gate and further into the ruins. On the other side, Frisk saw the ruins became more cave like. The once wide and open scenery had vanished to simple rock walls and paths. Small, shallow creeks seemed to run through with rickety bridges over them. Toriel scratched her chin, then turned to Frisk.

"To make progress here, we'll need to trigger a pair of switches." She explained. "Would you care to help me?"

Frisk smiled.

"Sure. Why not?"

Toriel smiled, then released Frisk's hand.

"I've marked the switches that need to be flipped, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding the right ones."

Frisk walked across the bridge, and quickly found the first switch. There were yellow arrows pointed at it with some words beside it.

bPlease press this switch -Toriel/b

Frisk pulled the switch, then walked across a second bridge. There, they found a set of two switches. Once more, there were words and arrows, pointing at both switches.

bPlease press the one on the left, not the one on the right -Toriel/b

Frisk pulled the one on the left, eliciting a smile from Toriel.

"Splendid." she said as she took Frisk's hand once more. "I'm very proud of you."

Frisk smiled, having never been given praise for their work. They were used to working in the dark, literally, and not getting recognition for their deeds. To this day, Lady Magpie still thinks fairies come and do all of her chores for her.

"Let us move on to the next room." Toriel decided.

They walked towards the next room, as the tall spike traps that blocked the door sank into the ground, accompanied by the low groan of metal grinding on metal.

"As a human living in the Underground, there is a great possibility that monsters will try to attack you." she explained.

Frisk flinched at the thought, thinking back to Flowey's words once more. Toriel gently squeezed Frisk's hand, giving them an encouraging smile.

"Do not worry." she insisted. "While monsters may try to attack you, you can easily avoid conflict by talking to them or interacting with them."

Frisk looked up in surprise.

"Really?" they asked.

"Of course." Toriel replied. "They will attack you out of fear or curiosity. If you show them kindness and mercy, you can alleviate their fears, and perhaps even make a new friend."

They walked into a large room, nowhere near as large as the entrance area, but a sizeable room. Leaves covered the ground, leaving only a simple trail, Frisk saw the entrance up a head and began walking towards it unaware that Toriel had let go of their hand. The leaves began to rustle, eliciting a gasp from Toriel.

"Frisk!" Toriel shouted,

Frisk looked towards Toriel, when their attention turned to the leaves. Eyes rose from the leaves and a low rumbling sound was heard. The leaves erupted as a large, dog-sized frog leapt towards Frisk. It landed on top of them, knocking Frisk to the ground.

"Umm… hi." Frisk said softly.

"Ribbit." The frog thing replied.

Frisk didn't know what to do and looked up at Toriel. Toriel recognized the creature and smiled reassuringly.

"Froggits love compliments." she suggested.

Frisk thought for a moment, then smiled at the Froggit.

"You're looking very nice today." They said.

The froggit appeared confused at first, but blushed after a moment, then hopped away. Toriel watched it go, then looked down at Frisk.

"Very good" she said. "You successfully warded off a deadly monster attack."

Frisk blinked, not realizing Toriel was joking until she started laughing. Frisk let out a sigh of relief, stifling giggles in an attempt to be serious.

"That wasn't funny Toriel." They said as they pulled themselves to their feet.

Toriel just continued giggling as they made their way into the next cave system. It was thinner, and another creek flowed through. This one, however, was more of a river then a creek. Frisk's attention wasn't on the body of water, or if it could be considered one or the other. Instead, their gaze was drawn to the spike-covered bridge. Toriel looked at it with immense focus, as if trying to remember something.

"Toriel," Frisk said softly. "How do you solve this puzzle?"

Toriel tightened Frisk's hand, walking towards the spikes.

"Stay near me." she insisted.

The spikes descended for Toriel as she walked forward. She continued walking, taking a strange, zigzag path through the spikes as they parted for her. Frisk stared in amazement.

"How did you do that?" Frisk asked.

"Do you remember the pattern on the floor of the hallway we came in?" Toriel asked.

Frisk thought back and remembered a strange, zigzag line on the ground. Suddenly, it clicked.

"It was a map." Frisk realized. "To anybody else, it would just seem like floor decorations."

"Excellent." Toriel nodded as they reached the end of the spikes. "You're a fast learner Frisk."

As they walked into the next room, Toriel looked down at Frisk and smiled. The room was bare, with only a single column at the far end and a long twisty walkway. Toriel released Frisk's hand.

"This next test may be a bit difficult, but I need you to do it on your own."

Frisk nodded, pretty sure they could figure out the test easily. Toriel looked a bit hesitant, then took a deep breath.

"I need to to walk to the end of this room by yourself."

As soon as she said this, Toriel ran off, leaving Frisk alone. Frisk watched her go, then looked around. The room was completely empty of puzzles and traps, much to Frisk's confusion.

"Okay… this is kind of weird."

Frisk then began walking down the long room. Aside from the occasional ivy strand, the room was completely barren. With each step, Frisk became more confused. Finally, they reached the end of the room, where Toriel was waiting behind the large column.

"Hello Frisk." she greeted. "Do not worry, I did not leave you."

Frisk walked up to her, cocking their head in confusion.

"Umm, why did you have me walk across the room by myself?" Frisk asked.

Toriel just smiled.

"I needed to test your independence." She explained.

Frisk just stood there, then busted out into fits of laughter. Toriel watched them curiously as Frisk fell to the ground, slapping the stone with their palm as they kept laughing.

"Oh man!" Frisk exclaimed. "Trust me on this, I am more independent than most adults! I'm the only reason our orphanage hasn't crumbled into dust!"

Toriel's eyes widened at the word orphanage.

"You are an orphan?" she asked.

Frisk's laughter died away as they slowly sat up, looking up at Toriel.

"Yeah." Frisk replied. "My family's gone. Been on my own ever since."

Frisk then stood up.

"Well, not entirely alone." they amended. "There's 11 other kids at Ebott Valley, and Lady Magpie tries to take care of us, but she's not exactly… all there if you know what I mean."

Toriel surprised Frisk with a hug. At first, Frisk was shocked, having never been hugged before. However, they quickly returned the gesture, reveling in the warmness of Toriel's fur.

"You don't have to be alone any longer." She promised. "I will take care of you from now on."

Frisk's eyes widened.

"Are you… are you adopting me?" Frisk asked.

Toriel gave a warm smile.

"If that is what you wish." she replied. "But first, there are a few things I must do. Will you stay here and wait for me?"

Toriel knelt down and hugged Frisk close to her. Frisk accepted the hug, patting Toriel's back with a skeptical look. Toriel then released and stood up.

"Now wait here child, I will be but a few moments." Toriel said, before walking further down the caves and vanishing into the darkness.

Frisk could only watch before sitting down and crossing their legs. The room was empty, nothing but the vines, the column, and them. Frisk tried to pass the time, whistling a bit of tune that randomly popped into their head. Unfortunately, the echoes only reminded them how vast these caves were. Minutes slowly began to feel like an eternity, and without much on themselves, Frisk began to stare down the long cave system ahead of them more and more. Finally, Frisk stood up slowly, and dusted themselves off.

"I bet I could find where Toriel went." Frisk said with a smile. "I've just got to watch my step."

Puffing out their chest, Frisk marched out of the room and into the systems that Toriel had entered. The winding hallways bared no real markings, only dimly lit sconces and some red leaves as any real sense of a trail. Soon, the room opened up into a large room. Numerous dead trees with black bark sat in this room, and the whole floor was covered in crisp red leaves and branches with small piles in each corner and one large pile in the center.

Frisk grew curious, and looked at the leaves. They crunched under their feet with every step, making Frisk smile as they began to dance around and creating a melody with each step. The large pile began to rustle, as if in tune with their childish melody and it grabbed Frisk's attention. They stopped and looked at the pile, and a smile came on their face. They began running towards the pile, without even thinking, and leapt. Grabbing their legs, Frisk screamed.

"Lookout below!"

The leaves erupted and a very scared white sheet creature looked right at them as Frisk screamed before knocking it to the ground and falling on top of it. Leaves began to dance around them as Frisk scrambled off of the sheet.

"I'm sorry!" They screamed, getting off of the bizarre creature. "I didn't know you were there!"

"It- it's fine…" the creature said sadly, it's voice deep but quiet.

Frisk looked down at the sheet curiously, wondering if they had accidentally hurt it. Then again, even if they had, it was obvious this thing was some sort of ghost. Could a ghost be hurt? Curiousity returning, Frisk sat down in the leaves next to it.

"I'm Frisk." They said. "What's your name?"

There was an awkward silence, as the ghost-like creature looked at Frisk for the longest time before turning around and looking back at Frisk.

"I-... I'm sorry…" It stuttered, "Are… are you talking to me…?"

Frisk smiled.

"I don't see anyone else here, do you?"

"I'm-... Napstablook..." the ghost-like creature said solemnly.

"Napstablook." Frisk repeated, rolling the word around. "That's a cool came. Definitely better than Frisk."

Napstablook looked a down a bit, and seemed to blush before looking back at Frisk.

"Why-... Why are you being so nice…" He asked, "I haven't done… anything… to deserve this…"

"Nor have you done anything not to deserve this." Frisk replied.

The ghost creature began to look up a bit more before he was looking directly at Frisk.

"I wanna show you...something." He whimpered, "May I...?"

Frisk's eyes widened and they nodded enthusiastically. Napstablook looked side to side, and tears began to well up in its eyes as he appeared to begin crying heavily. Frisk flinched, thinking they had done something wrong, until they noticed which way the tears were falling. Instead of downwards, the tears began to stream upward from his eyes towards his forehead and it began to take shape. Moving violently under the tears formed a rather dashing tophat on his head.

"I… I call it… 'Dapper Blook'" Napstablook quietly joked, tears still sat on his eyes.

Frisk chuckled, standing up and giving a bow

"A pleasure to meet you, 'Dapper Blook'." they greeted in a fake, fancy accent. "I must say, that is a lovely hat"

Napstablook blinked twice, before blushing.

"Wow… Usually I come down to the ruins because no one is around….. But today… I met someone really nice….."

Frisk smiled brightly at the compliment.

"You're nice too Napstablook."

Napstablook slowly began to float higher and higher, towards the ceiling before fading off and completely vanishing. Frisk smiled, before looking at the other piles of leaves. They wanted to jump on them, but decided against it. The last thing they wanted was to hurt anyone else. Frisk began to continue down the hall. As they continued, a small white dog ran passed, a strange sack in its teeth. Frisk watched it go, chuckling slightly at the sight.

"Do dogs even like flour?" Frisk wondered aloud.

"Come back here!" Toriels voice rang out.

Frisk then watched as Toriel came running past, catching up to the dog surprisingly quick and grabbing the sack of flour.

"That… is not…. Yours…." Toriel told it as she tried to pull the sack free of the dog's grip.

Frisk watched the tug of war game, laughing at the sight. Then, they put two fingers in their mouth, letting out a shrill whistle. The dog released the sack, looking over at Frisk with a doggie grin. Toriel recovered the flour, tucking it under her arm.

"Thank you for your assistance- Frisk!"

Toriel ran over to Frisk, looking them up and down.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked. "I told you to stay in the room."

"Sorry." Frisk replied. "I got bored."

Toriel shook her head.

"Well, I am glad you didn't venture farther than this room." Toriel spoke softly, attempting to catch her breath. "The ruins are quite confusing, and very dangerous to those who do not know the way. The only danger in this room is that strange ghost that appears every now and again."

"You mean Napstablook." Frisk clarified. "He's nice, and kind of funny."

Toriel blinked for a minute, then smiled before grasping Frisk's hand.

"Well, I think I've kept you waiting long enough." she declared. "It's time for us to go home"

She began leading them, pulling them in a way that Frisk could easily follow. They walked through one of the old archways, passing ruins of old village buildings and old stone structures that seemed to reach for the high vaulted ceiling. Eventually, they both arrived at an old dead tree surrounded by piles of leaves.

The tree was covered in thick black bark, giving it an eerie appearance. Toriel smiled as she walked passed, looking back at Frisk, who seemed to be frightened again. Toriel squeezed their hand again, looking towards Frisk.

"We are nearly home, Frisk." Toriel said, "Just a bit further to the front door and we will be eating fresh pies and nice cream."

Frisk looked around, seeing and assortment of one eyed monsters and strange, living gelatin squids roaming over the abandoned structures. Frisk hugged their shoulders in a bit of anxiety before hugging onto Toriel's arm.

"Are we almost there?" Frisk asked, eager to get to safety.

"Yes, dear child." Toreil replied.

They reached the front of a large stone building which seemed to sit out of place in the crumbling ruins. Surrounded by the decaying remnants of the city, the structure was made of fine-lined bricks and cleaned windows. The roof was made of tree branches and thatch, and the building seemed to be built into a large rock wall.

"Here we are." Toriel said, as she reached over and opened the door. "Welcome to your new home, Frisk."

The inside of the house was bright, filled with a warmth that Frisk had never known before. The bright lights shined against light beige walls and polished wooden floors. A large staircase, larger than anything Frisk had ever seen before, seemed to descend into the darkness of what Frisk could only guess was the basement..

As Frisk looked around, it was clear that the house was quite small. Being nothing more than one long hallway, that went into a kitchen and living area. Toriel looked down at Frisk, her paw landing on Frisk's soft hair.

"Come, my child." She spoke softly, "I'll take you to your room."

"My- my room?" Frisk asked, a bit surprised. "I have a room here?"

Toriel had already left her side, and walked towards a large door with a blank nameplate on it. Frisk walked over as Toriel had opened the door, the inside was surprising to Frisk.

The room glowed a bright red with a warm, orange tinge to the paint. It held a twin size bed with lots of room on either side. A box of toys, a massive dresser, and closet furnished the room.

Frisk walked in, amazed by the prospect of having their own room. Back at the orphanage, Frisk had always had to share their room with the other eleven kids. All of this was more than Frisk could ever ask for. Toriel smiled, but as quickly as it came, it faded when she began to sniff the air, her eyes widening.

"Frisk, dear." She spoke up. "Please make yourself at home, I need to go deal with something. Wait here."

Toriel dashed from the room towards the living area, disappearing into a backroom, which Frisk guessed was the kitchen. Frisk went back into their room, looking around with a smile. They could be happy here.

A yawn escaped Frisk's mouth as they stretched. The excitement of the day, added with the discovery of monsters had truly drained the kid. Frisk crawled into the bed, burrowing under the covers.

"Maybe a small nap won't hurt."

Closing their eyes, Frisk fell asleep.

…..

When Frisk opened their eyes, everything was gone. The whole room had been plunged into a suffocating darkness. There was no dresser, no rug, no posters and empty picture frames. Just endless blackness all around them. However, far off in the distance and barely noticeable, there was a faint light. It seemed to shine down, high from an unknown light source and onto a very familiar plot of flower. Frisk slowly rose from the ground, a slight twinge in their ankle as if it had been sprained. They began to dust themselves off, then called out.

"Hello!" They called, "Is anyone there? Can someone tell me where I am?"

The silence was as eerie, like the calm before a storm. Frisk began to slowly walk towards the plot of flowers with fear lingering over them.

A few steps, and suddenly the darkness became filled with distant screams. People's voices from unknown places, telling them to 'look over there' and to 'get inside'. Frisk began to look around, more afraid to hear the nothingness around them speaking. Then, it returned to the still silence.

Frisk began moving again towards the plot of golden flowers as a low hum began to echo in the darkness. The hum began to grow louder, and louder until it became a loud roar. Frisk began to run as the sound of sirens filled around them and the distant sound of explosions could be heard. Frisk looked towards the flowers, as if looking for safety in the light. They were getting closer, and closer and closer.

Suddenly, the sound of a rope snapping was heard and Frisk's eyes widen as they felt like they were falling. The room engulfed them, and the darkness swallowed them.

…..

Frisk sat up with a start, barely containing a horrified scream. Cold sweat dripped down their face as they gasped for breath. After a few moments, Frisk managed to regain control over themselves, taking a deep breath.

"What was that?" Frisk muttered. "I haven't had a dream like in years."

Frisk sat in the bed, thinking back to the dream. Unlike most nightmares, which faded after waking up, this one seemed to linger, replaying over and over again like a bad horror movie.

"Heh." Frisk chuckled. "Knox would be laughing at me and calling me a baby if he saw me like this."

Thinking about Knox reminded Frisk of all of the friends back at the orphanage. They would be worried about them, wondering where they went. More than that, Lady Magpie would be without anyone to clean up after her. That thought sent a chill down Frisk's spine and a cold lump to their stomach.

"I can't stay here." Frisk muttered. "I have to go home."

"Frisk, dear." Toriel called.

Frisk jumped again, turning to the bedroom door.

"I have a surprise for you." She called. "Come into the kitchen."

"Uh… Coming!"

Frisk slowly got out of bed, replacing the covers neatly. Frisk walked out of the room, looking back at the cheery bedroom with a sigh of regret. Walking into the kitchen, Frisk found Toriel standing with a smile on her face, carrying two plates of pie in hand.

"I hope you like butterscotch and cinnamon." She said, blushing, "I didn't know which you would like. Oh my, I can be so indecisive sometimes."

Frisk smiled, but deep inside, they knew what needed to happen. Toriel placed the two plates on the table, pulling out a chair for Frisk. Frisk sat down, allowing Toreil to push their chair in. Toriel sat down across from them, a bright smile on her face.

"iBone/i appetit." She said, giggling as if she had said a joke but Frisk just shrugged.

Frisk looked at the slice of butterscotch and cinnamon pie, taking a bite as Toriel seemed to play with her food.

"I have everything set up for your stay here." Toriel spoke.

Frisk stopped with the fork sticking out of their mouth, the taste of butterscotch and cinnamon lingering of their tongue.

"It won't be so bad," Toriel continued. "I have a curriculum set up for you, your education will be my top priority. I can't have you not knowing the vast history of our little home here. Though, it's not as impressive as some human books I've read."

"Ummm." Frisk stuttered.

"It will be a bit hard." Toriel kept going, "We won't have much to eat but snails at first, but I am sure we can survive some hard times. I know a few bug-catching spots I can show you, and I can also teach you about all the different plants down here. With a little imagination, I am positive that the underground will become the perfect home for you.

"Ummmmmm." Frisk continued to stutter, as Toriel took her first bite.

"And think of all the fun we can have." Toriel said, as she looked down at her plate.

"When can I go home?" Frisk finally asked

The one-side conversation ended with the clatter of a fork on the table.

"Home?" Toriel asked. "This is your home."

"I mean my real home." Frisk explained. "I want to stay. Believe me, I do… But I can't."

Frisk set the fork down next to the plate, their appetite suddenly dead. Toriel's warming eyes suddenly became glassy as she looked upon Frisk. She stood up, her eyes shadowed by her ears.

"Frisk, you stay here." Toriel said coldly as she stood up.

The chair toppling back from the sudden motion as Toriel walked away from the table.

"Toriel?" Frisk asked, standing up in sudden fear. "Toriel, where are you going?"

"Frisk!" Toriel shouted,

She then covered her mouth, surprised she had shouted. Steeling herself, Toriel spoke again, but kept her voice down this time.

"Stay here."

She ran to the railing, running down the staircase. Frisk quickly began to make their own way down the stairway. As they reached the bottom, Toriel could be seen standing a few feet away from the base of the stairs. She seemed to be almost crying.

"You don't have to go, Frisk" She said softly, "You'll become just like the rest."

"The rest?" Frisk asked

Toriel didn't answer them. Her form merely continued into the darkness of the basement. Frisk tried to follow, but they misjudged their first step and slipped. Frisk's footing left the ground and they tumbled down the remaining stairs, falling face first onto the ground. Motionless for a brief moment, Frisk slowly stood back up and leaned against the cold stone of the wall.

"Toriel-" Frisk groaned,

"It'll be better with me." Toriel's voice echoed, "Just go to your room and don't follow me."

Frisk hurt all over, but continued to move. Walking through the pain, Frisk entered the shadows of the hallway. There was an eerie nothingness as Frisk looked around in confusion.

"Toriel…" Frisk seemed to whimper, attempting to stay brave.

"Seven." Toriel's voice echoed, "I watched as seven children died, and I will not watch as an eighth dies. Not if I can prevent it."

It was then that the room's darkness seemed to lead to a faint light. Frisk began to make their way towards it, practically sprinting down the long hallway. Eventually, they reached a brightly lit door. It was a large door, nearly twice the size of Toriel and had the appearance of a great demon's face. A small symbol, similar to that on Toriel's vestments appeared on its forehead and two sets of torches on both sides.

Toriel stood before it, a large fireball in hand as she stared into the doorframe. It was clear what was about to happen, and Frisk's eyes widened as they looked at Toriel.

"No!" Frisk screamed.

Toriel froze, the fireball dying in her grip. Toriel turned slowly to Frisk, a tear in her eye.

"What are you doing, Toriel?" Frisk asked as they looked at her.

Toriel looked at her hands and sighed, clenching them. Then looking at Frisk, her eyes hardened.

"You wish to return home?" she asked. "Beyond this door lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground."

Frisk looked at the door, then at Toriel.

"You didn't answer my question." Frisk insisted.

Toriel looked away.

"I am going to destroy it..."

"What?!" Frisk exclaimed. "Why?"

Toriel didn't move, not even to look at Frisk.

"It's for your own good." she spoke stoically "I have relived this scene over and over again. It's always the same for every human that has fallen down here. They come. They leave. They die. Well no more."

The fireball returned in Toriel's hand, but it was much larger than before.

"I will not let Asgore take another soul."

Frisk thought fast, running passed Toriel and putting themselves in front of the door, but more importantly, in front of Toriel.

"Toriel, please!"

Frisk looked at Toriel, a serious nature taking their face. Toriel's expression hardened to match theirs.

"I am doing this for your own good!" Toriel insisted. "Please, just let me protect you!"

"You don't understand!" Frisk screamed. "I have to go! I can't stay here! I need to go home!"

"This is your final warning!" Toriel shouted. "Let me do my duty!"

"NO!"

Toriel charged the fireball and launched it towards Frisk, the flames hitting the wall beside the door. Frisk flinched before looking at the large scorch mark on the wall, then back at Toriel. She seemed to be looking right through Frisk, a seriousness not seen before reflecting in her eyes.

"You're just like the rest." she muttered.

Frisk looked at her, scared of that distant look in Toriel's eyes.

"Toriel?" Frisk asked.

Toriel recharged her fire spell.

"There is only one solution to this." she said.

The red heart suddenly appeared on Frisk's chest, that red aura returning. A feeling of dread creeped into their chest.

"Prove yourself." Toriel declared. "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive."

Frisk barely had time to react before a line of flames came flying at them. Frisk dove out of the way as the fire danced around them. Toriel's eyes hardened, becoming more distant and glass-like.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Toriel!" Frisk shouted. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Then defend yourself." Toriel replied almost emotionlessly

Toriel reeled her paws back and created a large fireball, then threw it. It burst into a spiralling twister of fire. Frisk got back up and rolled out of the way as the fire slammed into the door. The ceiling shook and dust began to rain down on the two of them. Frisk slowly returned to their feet, flexing their fingers as they noticed the minor burns on their hands. They were bright red, stinging slightly with every movement Frisk made. Toriel seemed to flinch at the sight, an action Frisk couldn't help but notice. It was becoming clear to them the reality of the situation.

"Just stop this, Toriel." Frisk insisted. "I know you don't want to fight me any more than I do."

Toriel remained silent, preparing another fire spell. Frisk just stood there, not moving an inch. Toriel looked down at Frisk as she reeled back. The fireball grew beyond containment.

"Give up Frisk." She stoically said,

The fireball flew like an arrow, but appeared as a flaming ball of destruction. Frisk watched it coming, then put their arms out and smiled. The flames struck them square in the chest, throwing Frisk back. They fell to the ground, their sweater now covered in ash and soot. Frisk rolled a few more feet before finally coming to a stop. They twitched slightly, but slowly got back off. Their face was blackened by the attack, and they had a fresh cut on their cheek.

"What are you doing?" Toriel asked. "Attack or run away!"

Frisk just stood their ground, not moving an inch.

"What are you proving this way?" she demanded. "Fight me or leave."

Frisk looked at Toriel, coughing slightly from smoke inhalation as a tear ran down their face. They looked down at their hands, now covered in scrapes and cuts as well as the minor burns from before. Frisk then looked back up at Toriel, their expression hiding the pain as they remained standing.

"No."

Toriel looked shaken, despite her hardened expression. The fire magic began to dance around Frisk. Unlike before, none of her attacks were hitting them. It was as if she was purposely missing

"Stop looking at me like that!" she insisted. "Go away!"

Frisk shook their head as more tiny fireballs continued to surround them. Toriel's expression began to break as Frisk stared them down. Once it became clear that Frisk wasn't going to give up, Toriel's hand dropped. The fires around Frisk began to die as Toriel looked down at them. Tears began to drip down Toriel's cheeks as she covered her mouth in fear.

"I know you want to go home, but please… go upstairs now."

Frisk looked up as Toriel slowly approached them.

"I promise I'll take good care of you. I know we do not have much, but we can have a good life here."

Frisk shook their head.

"I can't."

Toriel wiped her eyes.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" she asked. "Please, go upstairs..."

"No..." Frisk replied.

Toriel knelt in front of Frisk, meeting their eyes. The red aura died and the heart faded as Toriel's tears became a sad laughter.

"Ha ha..." she laughed sadly. "Pathetic is it not…? I cannot save a single child..."

Frisk reached up to hug Toriel, who wrapped her arms around Frisk. Tears ran down both their cheeks as they just held each other, both of them unwilling to release the other.

"If I could stay, I would." Frisk told her. "But I can't..."

"I know..." Toriel replied. "You do not belong down here… Your home is on the surface, not down here in the underground."

They remained in the hug for a long time before they finally released each other. Toriel wiped her eyes, then stood up.

"If you wish to leave the Ruins, I will not stop you."

Frisk smiled sadly up at Toriel.

"Thank you."

Toriel rummaged into her pocket, pulling out an old cellphone.

"Take this." she insisted. "I do not use it, but it may be of use to you."

Frisk took it, tucking it into the pocket their backpack. Toriel looked heartbroken as she stared down at Frisk. She had more to say.

"I just have one request..." Toriel whispered, Frisk didn't respond.

Toriel seemed hesitant, but took a deep breath.

"When you leave here… please do not come back."

Frisk was about to argue, but it became clear by the pain in Toriel's eyes that it wasn't a matter of negotiation. It was this or nothing, and Frisk looked down at her charred sweater and then back at Toriel. Frisk nodded, and Toriel nodded back. No words were needed. It was already so painful, and neither side needed nor wanted to make it worse.

Toriel looked at the door, the symbol engraved upon it slowly beginning to glow. The jaw opened, the sound of locks turning and clicking cutting through the uncomfortable silence. A loud thud echoed, and the doors opened slowly. Frisk watched as the doors grinded against the ground. Then, complete silence.

"Toriel, I just wanted to say... I-" Frisk turned around, and saw no one was there. "Oh."

Frisk looked down at the ground once more, then back into the darkness beyond the door. With a deep sigh, Frisk walked forth through the massive door frame. The door began to close behind them until the previous room could no longer be seen. Down the hallway, Toriel heard the bang. The sound brought tears to her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

"Goodbye, my child..."

…..

The door slam shut, with an echo that boomed throughout the vast cave system. Frisk looked back towards them, sadness filling their mind. Their sleeve rubbed against their eyes as Frisk brushed away the tears that streamed down their face. Still, Frisk looked forward determined to see this through.

It was slowly becoming obvious why Toriel had tested Frisk on independence. It was quiet, and Frisk was truly alone. They continued forth, walking as the door seemed to fade behind the shadows, the ground slowly inclining upward until the door truly disappeared from sight. Frisk continued looking over their shoulder, but turned away, seeing this as their point of no return. The hard ground extended for an eternity and Frisk just looked down at the solid floor.

Before long, the floor began to gain some color. Vines of green and wilted yellow flower petals littered the ground, drawing Frisk's attention away from their situation. Frisk stopped and looked up at a small field of flowers, much like the one they had fallen into when they came down. In the middle of the field, facing away from Frisk as if waiting for them, was Flowey. Frisk flinched at the sight of the malicious flower as it slowly turned around, but seemed to relax when they saw that it was still injured from Toriel's attacks.

"Clever." Flowey said with a malicious smile. "Ve~ery clever. You must think you're so~o smart."

"What do you want you demonic weed?" Frisk demanded.

"Don't you remember what I told you?" it asked. "In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Frisk suddenly got a sinking feeling that Flowey was referring to their battle with Toriel.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Frisk asked.

"You managed to play by your own rules THIS round, sparing the life of sweet, innocent Toriel." Flowey chortled. "But you'll find that not all monsters are as kind and generous as her. What are you gonna do if you meet a relentless killer? If you do what you did with Toriel, your life will end."

"I'll just be careful." Frisk insisted, "I'm not a monster."

At those words, flashes of that horrible dream flickered in Frisk's mind. They clenched their fist, forcing the images aside.

"I'm not like you."

Frisk walked away, leaving Flowey alone in the cave.

"We'll see about that..."


	2. Puzzles

Frisk stood in front of the set of large stone doors, plain compared to the highly decorated ones they had seen before. They sighed, rolling their shoulders before slowly pushing the doors open. It made a loud grinding sound, the doors heavy and hard to move. More than once, Frisk lost their footing, slipping down to the floor. Still, they got back up and continued pushing until they made a crack big enough to squeeze through.

The first thing Frisk felt was the immense cold, a slight fog rolling in from the bottom of the door. Frisk then began to shimmy through the crack, hearing the distinct crunch of their tennis shoes on thick snow. As Frisk finally became free, they turned to see the next leg of their journey. The cave was narrow, filled with large trees that grew to the ceiling, bending and bowing against the high top of the cave. The ceiling glistened with far away gems and crystals, giving a distinct feel of stars and light. Frisk smiled, wanting to jump up and grab one for their own. The oddest thing was that there was no road, for the entire ground had all been covered by a thick, almost clay like snow. Frisk smiled, always having fond memories involving. They scooped up a handful of the snow, bringing it to their mouth to lick it. It tasted like vanilla ice cream, a taste that threw Frisk for a loop.

"Ice cream…" Frisk murmured, taking another lick. "Weird. Then again, I was almost adopted by a goat."

Frisk dropped the remaining snow and began to walk forward, hugging themselves as they looked around. The trees were close together, tightly packed to the point where they nearly made a wall on either side of the path. Their breath was foggy from the cold and Frisk soon began rubbing their hands together to preserve warmth. Their mind wandered and they continued, wondering how long until they could find somewhere to keep warm. Suddenly, Frisk's foot caught on something and they were thrown off balance. They fell hard, having tripped over a large branch and landed face forward into the snow.

"Smooth, Frisk." They muttered, brushing snow out of their hair. "Real smooth."

They stood up, looking at the branch with a look of disdain. They gave it a sturdy kick, then immediately regretted it as pain shot up their toes and throughout their foot. The branch never budged, but the snow revealed it was heavily frozen to the ground.

"Ow!" Frisk screamed, grabbing their foot as they sat down and hissed in pain.

Frisk rubbed the sore foot, not wanting to see how badly it looked inside the tennis shoe. They sighed, then slowly got up and tested the footing before setting it down completely.

"Well, that was stupid." Frisk murmured, and took a few slow steps.

Suddenly, the whole cave echoed a loud crack. Frisk froze, and turned around slowly. The branch which had just injured them was now in three separate pieces. A pair of footprints were imprinted in the ice where the stick had been snapped. However, there was no one was in sight, the whole cave eerily quiet.

"Umm, hello?" Frisk called. "Is someone there?"

Silence. Frisk began to back away slowly, but the silence was replaced with a whole new fear, that there was someone watching them. Frisk adjusted their sweater and continued a bit further until they reached a small bridge over a small crevasse. Right before the bridge was a bizarre wooden structure, a wooden tree truck held up by four thicker trunks with the bridge easily going through it. Frisk could only question the purpose of this design.

"What is this?" Frisk wondered. "Some sort of old sign? No… it's too new."

The sound of footsteps began to fill the air, causing Frisk to freeze up. As they glanced over their shoulder, a short figure, roughly the same height as them, approached. Frisk began to sweat, and then the sounds of footsteps stopped. The sound of breathing was all there was. Then it spoke.

"Human." a deep, hoarse voice spoke, its tone monotonically stoic. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

Frisk slowly turned around, coming face to face with the figment, the only color coming from a strange blue glow from the figure's right eye. Its hand slowly slipped from what appeared to be a pocket, and was held out right in front of them. Frisk looked down at it, taking a deep breath and closing their eyes. Their hand met with the figure's and they squeezed. The silence became filled with a loud, almost-farting noise which went on for a couple of minutes. The shadows cleared and the figure was soon revealed to be a short, smiling skeleton wearing black shorts and a blue parka.

"Hehe..." it laughed, giving its stoic tone a kinder, more laid back voice. "The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. Never fails to get a laugh."

Frisk blinked twice in a bit of confusion, before they began giggling wildly as they looked up at the figure, the fear giving way to genuine laughter and happiness.

"Nice one." Frisk chuckled. "Definitely did not see that coming. I'm Frisk. What's your name?"

"I'm Sans." the skeleton replied. "Sans the Skeleton. Say, you're a 'human', right?"

Frisk made a small show of patting themselves down, as if checking to see if they were,

"My sources say yes." Frisk replied.

"Huh, what a coincidence." Sans replied, "You see, I'm actually on patrol for humans."

Frisk's whole body froze with fear, remembering the words of not only Toriel, but those distant words of Flowey. "Kill or Be Killed."

"But… you know… I actually don't want to capture a human. Just doesn't sound like fun."

Frisk sighed, releasing the breath they hadn't even realized they were holding, their body relaxing.

"But the same can't be said for my brother Papyrus."

Frisk froze again.

"You- You have a brother?" They asked.

Sans nodded.

"E'yup. He's a human hunting fanatic."

"So," Frisk said, still a bit concerned, "I should avoid him."

"Nah," Sans answered, "My brother's about as dangerous as a wet blanket."

That's when Sans noticed something off in the distance.

"In fact, I think that's him coming this way."

Frisk's eyes widened, still a bit worried about meeting a human hunting skeleton. Sans noticed this and tried to calm them down.

"Relax." Sans told them "Just go through this weird… gate… thingy."

Frisk looked up at the bars in confusion

"Is that what this is?" they asked. "A gate?"

"Technically, it's supposed to be, but Papyrus made the bars too wide to stop anything."

Frisk walked through the gate, Sans right behind them. Once they reached the end of the bridge, Frisk spotted what looked like a small sentry station. Right in front of it was a lamp that seemed to be shaped exactly like Frisk.

"Go hide behind that lamp." Sans suggested. "But you better hurry. He's almost here"

Frisk ran over to the lamp, hiding behind it just as a very tall skeleton approaching. This one didn't look anything like Sans. His face was elongated, with a tall jaw set in a permanent grin. His attire was something Frisk might have seen on a child for Halloween, a strange white and gold shirt with a long, ragged red scarf around his neck. Around his waist was a golden belt, which held up his blue shorts. He strode towards Sans, his bright red boots crunching in the snow as he marched like a soldier.

"Sup bro?" Sans asked with a nonchalant wave.

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S -UP- BROTHER!" Papyrus replied, his voice high and squeaky like a prepubescent boy's before it cracked. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION!"

Sans seemed to be ignoring his brother, looking over at the lamp Frisk was hiding behind. Papyrus seemed to notice this and began shouting louder.

"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!" Papyrus shouted, his hands on his hips with a judging expression on his skull.

"Staring at this lamp." Sans replied. "It's kind of cool. Wanna take a look?"

Frisk froze, holding onto themselves hoping that the skeleton couldn't come over. Suddenly, Papyrus' face became red as he began to stomp his foot violently as he shook his arms.

"NO!" he squeaked. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE- ! I MUST BE THE ONE- !"

Papyrus turned his attention back to Sans and placed his hand against his chest, which puffed out in a regal style as he began to grin. His stance became straighter as he stood like some sort of superhero. Sans snuck over to Papyrus, gripped onto the less-ragged ends of the scarf with one hand and began to wave it. Frisk giggled at the pose.

"I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus declared. "THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY, -FRIEND? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

Sans stopped flapping the scarf as Papyrus' speech ended, his gaze returning to Frisk's lamp. By now, Frisk was barely able to contain bouts of laughter at Papyrus' display, holding their hand over their mouth to try and stifle the laughs that threatened to spew out.

"Hmm..." Sans muttered under his breath. "Maybe that lamp will help you."

"SANS!" Papyrus cried, throwing his tantrum again "YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!"

"Boondoggle?" Frisk repeated. "What the heck is a boondoggle?"

"YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERYDAY!" Papyrus ranted.

"Hey, take it easy." Sans told his brother. "I've gotten a **ton** of work done. A skele- **ton**."

The caved filled with the bizarre sound of a rimshot, the cymbals echoed as if on cue with Sans' bad pun. Frisk looked around, trying to see where it came from before returning their view to Papyrus, whose face was a bizarre mixture of emotions. Bright red with anger, his eyes narrowing in suspicion and his jaw grinning like a madman.

"SANS!" Papyrus whined.

Sans chuckled.

"Come on bro." he said. "You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus replied, looking away from his brother and sighing. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"

"Wow bro..." Sans said, clapping his brother on the back. "It sounds like you're really working yourself- down to the **bone**."

Again, the rimshot echoed on cue with Sans' bad pun. Frisk again looked around before returning their view to Papyrus and Sans.

"UGH!" he exclaimed. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE..."

A snicker escaped Papyrus as the next word left his mouth.

"-BACKBONE- INTO IT!" He shouted before bursting into laughter. "NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

He began walking off, before stopping and looking over their shoulder to glance at Sans.

"HEH!"

With the literal last laugh, Papyrus disappeared into the forest, the sounds of his feet crunching through the snow becoming quieter and quieter. Soon, only the silence remained. Sans looked over to the lamp, still smiling.

"Okay, you can come out now."

Frisk emerged from behind the lamp, walking over to Sans.

"So that's your brother?" They asked. "He reminds me of some of the younger kids back home."

"That's my kid brother for you." Sans replied with a shrug.

Frisk looked in the direction Papyrus had gone down, cocking their head slightly. They shook away the confusion before staring off into the distance.

"Well, I best get going before he comes back." Frisk sighed. "It was nice meeting you."

Frisk made it a few steps before Sans' voice stopped them.

"Hey Kid" Sans called out, before Frisk began walking. "I think I may have an idea. You see, my brother's been a bit down in the dumps lately. He's never seen a real human before, so if he saw you, I'm sure you'd brighten his day."

Frisk looked over at Sans, thinking back to Papyrus. He had seemed to be disenchanted. Frisk thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.

"He seems pretty harmless." Frisk admitted. "And if seeing me will make him feel better, then why not?"

Sans' smile grew wider.

"Thanks buddy." he called.

"Just promise me I won't be in any real danger." Frisk insisted.

Sans gave a wink, surprising Frisk since they didn't think he could do that.

"Don't you worry." Sans promised. "I'll keep an **eye socket** out for you."

A third rimshot sounded through the forest, and the trees rustled as bird monsters began to fly around. Frisk looked at Sans in confusion.

"Okay. How are you doing that?"

Sans' right eye began to glow as he just walked off.

"Trick of the trade, kid." he replied. "Trick of the trade."

Frisk watched him go, a bit confused.

"Umm, didn't your brother go that… way?" Frisk asked, pointing in the opposite direction.

But as Frisk looked back towards Sans, he'd already disappeared without a trace. Frisk blinked, then shrugged, continuing down the path Papyrus had taken.

…..

As Frisk walked through the forest, tall trees made way for shorter evergreen trees. The entire forest reminded Frisk of the trees surrounding Mount Ebott around Christmas time. As Frisk walked, all they could hear were the sounds of birds chirping and bad puns until two distinct voices began to fill the air. As the voices got louder, Frisk spotted two figures not far ahead

"Huh? That's Sans and Papyrus." Frisk murmured, "… but how did Sans get ahead of me?"

Deciding to worry about that particular mystery later, Frisk took shelter behind a small rock, settling down for the show.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE-"

Before Papyrus could continue, Frisk let out a sneeze. Papyrus stopped mid-sentence, turning to where Frisk was hiding. Seeing no real point in hiding anymore, Frisk came out.

"Hi." they waved.

Papyrus' expression suddenly changed. The once stoic, almost angry look now becoming one of shock and excitement. His hands came up to his face.

"SAN! OH MY GOD IS THAT… A HUMAN?!"

Sans' looked over to Frisk, then back to Papyrus and noticed that Papyrus wasn't even looking in the human's direction.

"Actually, I think that's a rock."

"Oh-" Papyrus said, looking defeated.

"Hey, what's that beside the rock?"

Papyrus looked back over towards the rock, but this time stared at Frisk. His face, briefly sullened became ecstatic once again, even more so than previously. Frisk could have sworn they saw sparkles in his eyes.

"Hi." Frisk repeated.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus squealed in joy, then narrowed his eyes as he turned to Sans with a confused expression, "IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes." Sans said, whispering into the hole where Papyrus' ear would have been located.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I'M GONNA… I'LL BE SO… POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"

Papyrus waved his arms into the air, his expression becoming one of almost childish excitement only comparable to a small child receiving a puppy for christmas. Papyrus then, as if seeing his weakness showing, cleared his throat regained his composure. He changed his stance once more to that superhero pose that they had seen before. Frisk giggled at the display, enjoying the show immensely.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!"

Frisk had honestly never seen someone as happy as Papyrus was, then noticed Sans was standing behind Papyrus as he shook the scarf like a cape. Stifling their giggles, Frisk attempted to keep still as Papyrus continued his 'superhero' speech.

"I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN..."

Papyrus seemed stuck on this topic, his chest stopped being puffed out and his expression began to lose its confident as if he was unsure of what would happen next.

"Then you'll finally become a member of the royal-" Sans whispered towards Papyrus from behind.

"THEN I WILL FINALLY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus interrupted. "SO CONTINUE IF YOU DARE, HUMAN!"

He ran off, laughing happily with every step. Frisk just watched, giggling as they approached Sans.

"Well that went well." he remarked. "Thanks for doing this."

"This is gonna be fun, isn't it?" Frisk asked in between giggles.

Sans smiled a bit wider, happy that Frisk seemed to be having as much fun as his brother was. It was then that Sans began to notice Frisk's attire, or lack thereof. His upper eye socket raised, as if questioning something. Frisk looked down at themselves, confused at what he was looking at.

"Aren't you cold?" Sans spoke, "You must be- chilled to the **bone** "

The rimshot sounded throughout the area, but Frisk barely heard it. They hadn't really noticed it before, but the snow was soaking through their shoes, and the cold was starting to cut through their sweater. Still, there was little they could do about it. Frisk hadn't brought any winter clothes in their backpack.

"Actually-" Frisk replied, before letting out another sneeze.

"Good thing you're not me." Sans said, as he adjusted his parka, "The cold just goes- right **through** me!"

The rimshot was inevitable, and Frisk giggled. Unfortunately, even that was beginning to hurt.

"Hold on," Sans announced, "I think I have just what you need."

Sans picked Frisk up like they were nothing, walking back to the large sentry station. He set Frisk on the edge and began to dig through the inside. As he searched, he began tossing out all sorts of oddities; empty bottles of ketchup, a single bottle of mustard, and an unusually large tub of relish. Finally, he came out from underneath the station holding a large box labeled 'SANS' STUFF' in red marker.

"Hmmm, lets see what we've got in here." he muttered, as he began to rifle through the box. "Toy knife, faded ribbon, old tutu, ballet slippers, old glasses, torn notebook, burnt pan, stained apron, empty gun, cowboy hat… ah hah!"

Sans pulled out a pair of leather gloves and what looked like a red bandana

"It's not much, but it's all I got."

Frisk took the gloves, slipping them on and tying the bandana around their neck. They looked at the bandana, giggling as the noticed the image of a muscled chest doing a pose with a noticeable six pack on it. Frisk breathed into the tough gloves and rubbed them together, already feeling a bit warmer.

"Thanks Sans." Frisk said. "But where did you get all this stuff? This doesn't look like stuff you would wear or use."

Sans seemed to freeze, his smile looking forced now as sweat began to drip down his skull.

"I found it during my patrols." he explained. "No need to go into detail, alright?"

Frisk was skeptical, but before they could ask any more questions, Sans disappeared behind the sentry station as if walking down stairs. As Frisk looked around trying to find where he went, all they saw was the snow covered ground. They began brushing the snow away, thinking there may be some sort of trapdoor, but finding nothing.

"How the-?" Frisk began. "Forget it."

With nobody around, Frisk decided to keep going, curious about the puzzles Papyrus had mentioned before.

…..

Not long into their journey, Frisk passed another sentry station. Unlike Sans', this one was made of cardboard, most likely a refrigerator box with a window cut into it. Upon taking a closer look, Frisk found a note taped to the front.

"YOU OBSERVE THE WELL CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER… I BET IT WAS THAT FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN)"

Frisk chuckled.

"He's really is like a little kid." Frisk remarked. "I wonder if he's younger than me."

They continued forward, thankful for the gloves and makeshift scarf as they ventured deeper and deeper into the woods. Eventually, they stumbled across another sentry station. The station was more brightly colored then Sans' and the clear wood carving of a pomeranian was acting as the keystone to the arching roof.

"Hmm, whose station is this?" Frisk wondered. "Are there other sentries beside Papyrus and Sans?"

Frisk shrugged and began to move away from the sentry station when suddenly a high-pitched voice caught their attention from behind.

"Did something move?" It said, "Was it my imagination?"

Frisk froze, something telling them to be as still as possible. As they stood there, a dog's head began to slowly emerge from behind the sentry station.

"If something _WAS_ moving…" The dog spoke, his eyes narrowed and shifting from side to side. "For example, _a human_...I'll make sure it _NEVER_ moves again!"

The dog suddenly leapt from behind the sentry station and onto the ground. His nose in the air as he sniffed. His eyes continuously shifting from side to side. Even with him looking right at them, Frisk noticed that the dog monster hadn't seen them.

"Hello?" Frisk whispered

They began slowly turning to get a closer look at the strange dog. He wore a bizarre attire for a sentry guard; a bright pink tank top with polka dot shorts and knee high socks. His shoes were black, with white laces and a belt with a winged belt buckle. On his tank top were two things, an ink image of a smiling dog and a small, shield-shaped badge which read: _Hello, My name is Doggo. I can only see things that move :D._

Frisk read that and blinked. Deciding to test it, they reached down, picking up a small stick from off the ground. Before they could even grab it, Doggo looked down at them with a surprised look while keeping the narrowed eyes.

" _MOVING!_ " Doggo barked loudly, "It moved! It didn't NOT move!"

Frisk froze as Doggo looked at them. It was a few moments before Doggo began to approach slowly, his paws holding two rather large daggers. He leaned towards Frisk, staring right at them with his shifty eyes, and yet looking right through them.

"Where'd _YOU_ go?" He said, as if he was alone.

Frisk stayed silent, then glanced down at the stick that laid only a few inches from their hand. Knowing that their hand was out of Doggo's range, Frisk grabbed it, moving slowly just in case. Now safely out of sight. Frisk threw the stick just behind his head. Doggo eyes suddenly widened as he spotted the flying stick.

"HUH! A FUN STICK APPEARS!" Doggo exclaimed, his head turning to watch the stick go flying through the air.

He leapt towards it as Frisk watched. Like a well trained dog, Doggo snatched the stick out of the air, bringing it back to where he had started. He dropped it in the snow at Frisk's feet, still unaware of their presence

"Stay!" He shouted, as if ordering it to. "A stick appeared out of nowhere, but no one is moving. This is strange, I may need dog treats to think about this!"

Doggo stood up, looking away from Frisk as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver case. Inside, different colors of treats were lined as he placed a pink one in his mouth. Frisk carefully grabbed the stick from underneath the shifty-eyed Doggo, and giggled softly. They were having fun with this.

Wanting to do it again, Frisk threw the stick as hard as they could. It whirled through the air as Doggo's eyes perked up.

"It _MOVED_!" He shouted, charging after it "FUN STICK! STOP _MOVING_!"

The stick began to descend before clattering against one of the larger trees in the area. Frisk's eyes widened slightly with a bit of worry.

"Uh-oh." Frisk thought. "If Doggo can't see moving things, he probably can't see that tree."

Doggo ran through the snow, kicking up white clouds of snow with each step as he chased the stick, avoiding one tree and then another. Frisk's worried expression began to melt into a happy expression.

"Don't be ridiculous, Frisk." they thought. "Doggo probably grew up in these woods. Odds are he knows there's a tree there and will stop before he-"

There was a loud thud, followed by a thready whimper.

"-hits the tree." Frisk concluded with a sigh.

Frisk walked over to where Doggo had fallen. He had a rather large bump on his head and seemed to be unconscious. Not wanting to leave Doggo in the cold, Frisk took hold of his arms and began dragging him back to the station. They placed him inside, leaning him against the wall and even draping a small blanket over him.

"Sorry, boy." Frisk whispered. "Hope your head doesn't hurt too much when you wake up."

After applying a bandage to Doggo's head, Frisk closed the door to the sentry station and continued going forward.

"I hope Papyrus' puzzles will be this easy."

…..

Frisk didn't have long to wait to find out. After walking a few more feet, Frisk came across Sans and Papyrus standing next to a patch of ground that had been cleared of all snow. They hadn't noticed Frisk yet, and Papyrus seemed to be chewing Sans out again.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY!" he shouted. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT AGAIN!"

"I believe the term is sleeping, bro." Sans replied.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Frisk cleared their throat, drawing Papyrus' attention. When he spotted them, he quickly spun and faced them.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus called, striking his hero pose again. "SO, YOU HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE FORWARD DESPITE MY WARNING! THEN YOU BEST PREPARE YOURSELF, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE PREPARED AN INGENIOUS TRAP TO STOP YOU!"

Sans stood behind Papyrus, one arm assisting with the flapping of his cape as Frisk looked down at the clear patch of snow.

"It truly must be ingenious." Frisk replied. "Because to me, it just looks like an empty place."

Papyrus let out a hearty laugh.

"THAT IS WHAT I WANTED YOU TO THINK, FOR IT IS SO MUCH MORE! YOU STAND BEFORE MY DIABOLICAL INVISIBLE ELECTRIC MAZE!"

Frisk whistled.

"That does sound diabolical." They replied. "How does it work?"

"I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!" Papyrus responded, producing a small metal orb from behind them. "EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THE MAZE, THIS ORB WILL DELIVER YOU A NASTY SHOCK!"

Frisk looked at the orb, clearly within Papyrus' grasp. Their eyebrow raised, questioning Papyrus' logic on the orb being able to hurt them when it was not in their possession. Frisk shrugged and took a few steps, almost immediately running into what felt like a smooth wall. Suddenly, Papyrus leapt into the air, lightning rolling all over him as he was shocked with enough volts and amps to cause what looked to be a very painful experience.

"Sorry..." Frisk winced, getting off the wall as fast as they could. "You okay?"

"I-I'M OKAY..." Papyrus replied. "THAT JUST SURPRISED ME..."

Sans looked down at his brother with a chuckle.

"I guess you could say…"

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

"...it was a- **shocking** experience."

The rimshot rang out as Papyrus got to his feet, glaring at Sans.

"CURSE YOUR INCIDENTAL MUSIC! WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING?!"

Sans leaned in, whispering into his brother's non-existent ear.

"I think the human is suppose to be holding the orb, not you."

Papyrus thought about that for a minute, then conked himself on the skull.

"OF COURSE! HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN!" Papyrus called, "IT MUST HAVE BEEN WHEN I SWEPT THE SNOW, SO NONE OF MY FOOTPRINTS SHOWED UP! I'LL JUST TAKE THIS OVER TO THE HUMAN AND THEN- THEY'LL HAVE THE ELECTRIFYING EXPERIENCE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"It's not as funny the second time-" Replied Sans.

Papyrus then made their way towards Frisk, walking along the edge of the maze, seemingly looking to the ground for some kind of signal. Then, his elongated smile began slightly brighter as he began to walk through the invisible maze. His boots began leaving snowy footprints as he marched left, then left, then right before stopping right in front of Frisk. With a quick flick of his wrist, Papyrus tossed the orb to Frisk. Frisk's hands grabbed the orb, a slight smile on their face as Papyrus ran as fast as possible back the same way.

"Want me to try again?" Frisk asked. "Now that everything's set?"

"YES!" Papyrus shouted, "BUT I DOUBT YOUR INTELLECT CAN MATCH MY OWN! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR DEFEAT!"

Frisk looked down at the soft footprints in the snow. Barely visible but clear to Frisk. They smiled, and began to slowly walk forward. Following the footsteps like a trail of breadcrumbs before reaching the end.

"Wow kid," Sans began, nudging Papyrus, "I have to say that was- **A-MAZE-Zing** "

The rimshot could have been heard a mile away, but still Frisk giggled as Papyrus stomped his foot in anger.

"CURSES!" He shouted, "YOU MAY HAVE SURPASSED THIS PUZZLE, BUT OUR NEXT PUZZLE IS INGENIOUS! SO INGENIOUS IN FACT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS! BECAUSE MY BROTHER SANS HAS SET IT UP! BUT PREPARE FOR YOUR DEFEAT HUMAN! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus ran further down the road, as Frisk walked over to Sans. They both stood there for a few minutes, watching as he ran off to prepare the next puzzle. Once he vanished, Frisk set the orb down in the snow, a wide grin that rivaled Sans' on their face.

"That was fun." Frisk said. "He definitely worked hard on that one. What's next?"

Sans gave a wink.

"You'll see."

Sans then walk into the thick wall of trees, vanishing in a strange, blue haze. Frisk raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and continued down the path. Suddenly, they came to a clearing much like before. Papyrus and Sans were standing on the opposite side, much like before. Frisk stopped on the edge, looking at the clearing in confusion.

"Is this another invisible maze?" Frisk asked.

Papyrus looked just as confused as Frisk was. He looked at the clearing, then turned to Sans angrily.

"SANS!" Papyrus chastised, "WHERE IS THE PUZZLE!"

"What're ya talking about?" Sans spoke up, "It's right there!"

Laying in the center of the clearing, Frisk spotted a thin sheet of paper. Curious, Frisk walked forward, picking it up to see a bizarre image of a bear-like snowman and a group of words.

"A word search!" Frisk replied. "I love these!"

Frisk had been provided with a short red crayon, which they quickly grabbed, taking a seat on the ground. Within a few minutes, Frisk had successfully located all the words.

"Solved it!" Frisk said before putting the paper and crayon down. "Whats a 'giasfclfebrehber'?"

"SANS!" Papyrus groaned angrily, "YOUR PUZZLE DID NOTHING!"

"Whoops." Sans said with a dismissive shrug. "Knew I should have used today's crossword puzzle instead."

"CROSSWORD!" Papyrus shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST!"

Frisk had to fight back a snort at that comment. However, Sans did not.

"Junior jumble?" he repeated, giggling with every word.. "That easy peasy word scramble? That's for baby bones!"

Papyrus turned away from his brother, as if unable to believe what he had said.

"UN. BELIEVABLE..."

Papyrus then turned to Frisk, pointing at them.

"HUMAN! SOLVE THIS CONFLICT!"

Frisk blinked, then pointed at their chest.

"Me?"

"YES! YOU! WHICH IS MORE DIFFICULT? JUNIOR JUMBLE, OR CROSSWORDS?"

Frisk remained silent for a moment, trying to come of with the best way to answer Papyrus' question. Then, they got an idea.

"Well, crosswords are a bit challenging…" Frisk replied. " _but_ my friend Knox and I had the hardest time trying to solve this word scramble Lady Magpie gave us. It had like…. An H, a G, an A, two Ts. We couldn't figure it out."

Frisk chuckled slightly.

"Found out later the word was Spaghetti and felt like total idiots."

"AH HA!" Papyrus, "HUMANS MUST TRULY BE INTELLIGENT IF THEY FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO COMPLEX!"

Papyrus smiled, still holding his hero pose while Sans flapped the cape. He then turned to Sans, an eager look in his eye sockets.

"COME ON SANS!" Papyrus called, "WE HAVEN'T A MOMENT TO LOSE! ON TO THE NEXT PUZZLE!"

Papyrus turned around, the cape running through Sans' boney finger as he ran off. Frisk walked over to Sans, the two of them watching as he skipped away in excitement.

"Thanks for saying Junior Jumble just to appease my brother," Sans said once Papyrus had disappeared, "He once spent two weeks trying to 'solve' the horoscope."

Frisk giggled, gripping their stomach. It was then that a grumble was heard coming from their torso. Sans looked over at them.

"I thought you said you were human." Sans commented. "But you sound like that annoying dog whenever Papyrus tries to take his bones back from it."

"Sorry..." they muttered. "I'm hungry."

"Whelp!" Sans said, "Sorry, but I don't got much on me. Guess you're kinda- **Boned**!"

The rimshot was as predictable as Sans expression afterwards. Frisk giggled but their stomach quickly protested the action. Frisk decided it was best to just continue on their way through the woods, hoping that some food would show up soon.

With every step Frisk took, the growling of their stomach grew louder and longer. It was starting to become both annoying and a bit painful.

"Why did I have to fall down a hole before the picnic?"

The forest began to open, and within the clearing was a sight Frisk did not expect. Sitting in the middle of the nothingness stood a thick wooden table. On top of it was a small microwave oven, the plug sitting in the snow. Considering the lack of snow covering these implements, it was obvious they had only recently been placed here. The aroma of spaghetti sauce filled the air and a small note laid on the table. Frisk looked at it, reading it.

"HUMAN,

IT HAS OCCURRED TO ME THAT YOU HAVE NOT EATEN DURING THESE TREMENDOUSLY DIFFICULT CHALLENGES AND IT HAS LEAD ME TO BECOME WORRIED. I HAVE LEFT YOU SOME OF MY MOST DELICIOUS CREATIONS WITHIN THIS MICROWAVE OVEN UNITS TO ASSIST YOU. IT IS BRAIN FOOD, AND WILL ASSIST YOU IN FUTURE PUZZLES! I SHAN'T BE ALLOWED TO CLAIM VICTORY OVER A MINOR DISRUPTION SUCH AS HUNGER NOW! I AM A GENIUS!

DELICIOUSLY YOURS-

THE GREAT PAPYRUS! _:D_

Frisk pulled open the doors to the microwave oven. As expected, there was a warm plate of spaghetti sitting in the middle of it. There was even a fork sticking out of one of the meatballs.

"Papyrus, I think I'm in love." They said, as they reached inside.

Frisk wasted no time grabbing the plate, sitting down on the table and practically shoveling the sauce covered noodles into their mouth. The pasta was slightly overcooked and the sauce was a bit gritty, but to Frisk's hungry mind, it was heaven on a plate.

"What is that smell?" A voice came from the trees,

"It smells delicious!" Another, more feminine voice answered.

"There is also a weird smell" The first voice said, "I wonder what it could be."

Frisk paused mid-bite, pasta still hanging from their lips. The two voices didn't belong to Papyrus or Sans. Suddenly worried, Frisk slurped up the noodles, setting the plate aside to see who was coming.

Suddenly, the trees separated and two large dogs entered the clearing. Their faces covered by long black hoods that were attached to black robes. Both held matching axes that were almost as large as they were, decorated with a painted eye, though one had eyelashes on it.

"The smell came from here." Said a clearly male voice,

"That weird smell is here too" Said the female.

Suddenly the two were running around the table and against the walls and floors, sniffing everything sight. Frisk, still hiding beneath the table, could only watch as they went around the clearing before both coming back to Frisk's hiding spot.

"If you are a smell," the male called.

"Identify yoursmellf!" the female demanded.

Frisk slowly climbed off the table and began to crawl under it. Their arms and legs instantly became wet in the snow as their stomach dragged against the mud. The two dogs bent down and sniffed the spaghetti.

"Smells like Papyrus!" The male said,

"Smells like bones!" The female spoke up, "But something else!"

They then turned to underneath the table as Frisk let out a soft, fearful yelp. The two stood up, and went around the table, still trying to find the smell. Frisk quickly fell flat on their stomach, rolling around to try and escape to the other end of the table. However, their process was stopped when something grabbed their foot. Frisk yelped again as they were dragged out from underneath the table and held upside down in front of the two.

The two bent down and took a long, hard sniff, their noses traveling up and down Frisk in search of their weird smell. Then, the two stood up, looking at each other a bit confused.

"The weird smell is gone!" The male exclaimed.

Frisk sighed with relief. Apparently the mud they'd rolled around in had masked their smell.

"Just this weird puppy is all!" The female exclaimed.

Suddenly, the two of them dropped Frisk into the snow, where they landed with a soft thud. The two exchanging glances as each other than at Frisk.

"Sorry, strange puppy." The male apologized.

"We thought you were a human." The female explained. "I'm Dogaressa, and this hot dog Dogami."

Dogami seemed to blush, then he began to nuzzle Dogaressa's nose. Frisk was confused, but reached out and rubbed their hand on the soft fur of the Dogami's forehead. His eyes suddenly widened and looked towards Dogaressa.

"WOW!" Dogami exclaimed, "Pet by another pup!"

"Well." Dogaressa replied, "Don't leave me out.

Frisk smiled, and reached over to Dogaressa and rubbed the soft white fur of Dogaressa. Dogaressa eyes widened in the same fashion, before looking to Dogami.

"A dog that pets other dogs?" Dogaressa exclaimed, "...Amazing!"

"A dog can pet other dogs!" Dogami exclaimed,

"A new world has opened up for us…" Dogaressa happily expressed as her paw ruffled Dogami's fur.

Dogami reached over to Dogaressa and, as if giving a noogie, ruffled the fur of Dogaressa. The dogs smiled, and continued to pet each other.

"Thanks, weird puppy." They both exclaimed happily, and began to walk away.

Frisk smiled, then turned back to the pasta.

"Definitely gonna have to thank Papyrus for the food at the next puzzle."

…..

Having finished the spaghetti, Frisk followed the path towards another clearing. Even from a distance, Frisk could hear Papyrus working on something. A smile came to their face as they began running,e ager to thank Papyrus for the pasta. Then, they entered the clearing and were greeted by a very peculiar sight.

All wound the clearing were several fair sized balls of snow that seemed to have been arranged into some sort of pattern. Currently trying to move one of these frozen snow mounds was Papyrus, sweat dripping from his skull.

"CONFOUND IT!" he exclaimed. "I'LL NEVER HAVE THIS PUZZLE READY! DARN SNOW!"

"Everything alright?" Frisk called.

Papyrus froze, spinning in the snow to face Frisk.

"HUMAN!" he called. "I AM HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE CONSUMPTION OF MY DELECTABLE SPAGHETTI DID NOT HALT YOUR PROGRESS! THOUGH, I MUST ADMIT, NOT EVEN I EXPECTED YOU TO GET HERE SO FAST!"

"That reminds me, thanks for the food." Frisk interjected. "It was really good, and I was getting hungry."

"VERY GOOD!" Papyrus replied. "VERY GOOD INDEED!"

He seemed to hesitate a moment before speaking up again.

"YOU… YOU WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED TO SAVE SOME FOR ME, DID YOU?"

Frisk winced and shook their head.

"Sorry… I was really hungry."

Papyrus seemed hurt for a moment, then shrugged.

"NO MATTER! THERE IS INFINITELY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!"

Frisk smiled at that, then walked over towards the mounds of snow.

"So what's all this?" they asked. "Another puzzle?"

"ANOTHER PUZZLE?" Papyrus scoffed. "THIS IS BY FAR MY GREATEST PUZZLE YET! BEHOLD… THE ICE MAZE SHAPED LIKE MY FACE!"

A very unenthused ta-da could be heard from the trees. Papyrus' eye sockets narrowed as he glared at the trees in annoyance!

"WILL YOU QUIT IT WITH THE INCIDENTAL MUSIC SANS!" he shouted.

Sans poked his head out of the trees, a long trombone in his hands. He played the sad trombone sound before disappearing once again. Papyrus nearly screamed,stomping his foot hard on the ground.

"I MEAN IT SANS! STOP IT!"

Frisk began looking at the maze, and found themselves honestly stumped. True to his word, the maze did look like Papyrus' face, but had strange runes carved into the ground.

"Hey Papyrus, what are those runes?"

Papyrus looked over and smiled.

"WELL, YOU SEE, I KNEW YOU WERE GOOD AT PUZZLES, SO I DECIDED TO MAKE MY MAZE MORE CHALLENGING! YOU HAVE TO STEP ON ALL OF THOSE RUNES, BUT YOU CAN ONLY STEP ON THEM ONCE! STEP ON THEM TWICE AND YOU'LL HAVE TO START ALL OVER! IT'S MY MOST INGENIOUS PUZZLE YET!"

He stood there proudly, striking his heroic pose. However, Sans was not there to flap the end of his scarf. On a whim, Frisk took hold of the end of the scarf, flapping it like Sans always did. After a minute, Papyrus dropped the pose, and Frisk quickly returned to their original position.

"SO HUMAN, ARE YOU READY?"

Frisk gave a nod and Papyrus stepped forward, as if to gesture them inside. However, his boot slipped on a patch of ice and he began sliding.

"OH NO! WHOA! YAAAAAAAAAH!"

Papyrus squealed as she slid around the maze, striking the walls and bouncing around them like a pinball. Frisk watched, amazed to see him completing his maze in one swift, accidental movement. Finally, Papyrus came to a stop at the door, falling face first into the snow. Frisk quickly followed Papyrus' path, helping the skeleton out of the snow.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Papyrus asked, shaking snow out of his skull.

"You solved the maze!" Frisk declared. "I would never have been able to solve that on my own. Thanks Papyrus!"

Papyrus' cheekbones turned red as he rubbed the back of his skull.

"WELL….. YOU ARE WELCOME..."

He let out a cough as he stood up.

"I… UM…. I BEST GO AND…. PREPARE…. YOUR NEXT PUZZLE!"

He ran off, much faster than any of the previous times. Frisk watched him go, slightly confused.

"Was he…. Blushing?"

"Yeah… He's never heard any compliments except from me." Sans replied.

Frisk jumped, turning around to see Sans standing directly behind them.

"Hey kid." he said with a wave. "Thanks for doing the cape thing. I don't have the heart to tell him there's no wind down here."

"Was that another pun?" Frisk asked.

Sans shook his skull, smiling at the realization of a well-wasted pun.

"Nah." he replied. "Not everything I say is a pun."

Frisk smiled at that.

"Well then, you must really care about your brother… In fact, you could say that you've always got his back."

The rimshot rang out, surprising Frisk.

"Hey, I got a rimshot!" Frisk said, as they turned to face Sans with a smile. "Sans did you-"

But Sans was gone once more. Frisk sighed, getting use to his houdini act. Tightening the bandana around their neck, Frisk continued forward.

…..

As Frisk walked through the forest, the trees opened to the side of a cliff and a small chasm and a small bridge. On the other side, a bizarre contraption covered in lights and levers with large vents on top of it. Before them, numerous tiles all different shades of grey, possible over 50, were spread out in the snow. As Frisk approached, a familiar voice called out.

"NYEHEHEHEHEHE!" Papyrus chuckled as he and Sans emerged from behind a rather large machine. "IF YOU THOUGHT MY MAZE WAS CHALLENGING, THEN THIS PUZZLE WILL TRULY STUMP YOU! FOR YOU SEE, IT WAS CREATED BY THE GREAT DOCTOR ALPHYS!"

Frisk looked at them, then down at the floor before returning their view back to the skeleton brothers.

"Whose Alphys?" Frisk asked, confused.

"WHA- WHAT- WHAT!" Papyrus exclaimed in surprised. "ALPHYS IS A BRILLIANT SCIENTIST AND GENIUS BUILDER OF THIS GREAT MACHINE! SHE WAS EVEN KIND ENOUGH TO LEAVE INSTRUCTIONS."

He seemed to pause for a moment, then began digging into the pockets of his shorts. Eventually, he pulled out a crumbled up piece of paper, unfolding it and squinting at the writing.

"AHEM… LISTEN CLOSELY HUMAN, FOR I SHALL ONLY SAY THIS ONCE!"

"What was that?" Frisk replied as they suppressed a giggle.

"I SAID… LISTEN CLOSELY HUMAN, FOR I SHALL ONLY SAY THIS ONCE!" Papyrus exclaimed, visibly becoming annoyed.

"Didn't quite catch that last part." Frisk mocked again.

"GRR…. I SAID… LISTEN CLOSELY HUMAN, FOR I SHALL ONLY SAY THIS ONCE!" Papyrus began to stomp his foot in anger.

"One more time?" Frisk snorted, now unable to contain their own laughter.

Sans was also joining in the laughter, holding his shirt and parka. Papyrus just growled, ignoring Frisk's responses and continuing on with reading the paper.

"NOW LISTEN HUMAN" Papyrus began to read the instructions, as he unfolded and unfolded and unfolded until the paper reached the floor." AHEM, RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE-TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH THEM IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Papyrus smiled, knowing the human could not follow as Frisk had the most confused look on their face. Frisk now regretted not actually listening to the tall skeleton. Papyrus then spoke again.

"ONE MORE THING! THIS PUZZLE IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! ONCE I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION!"

"Wait, can you repe-" Frisk tried to say,

"AND BEGIN!" Papyrus shouted.

Papyrus slammed the switch down and the machine groaned and choked. Smoke bellowed from the vent as the gray tiles slowly became colored, changing before Frisk's eyes. Frisk stared down in fear as Papyrus laughed in success. The colors changed faster, and faster, and faster before a loud thunk was heard. All three of them just stared at the floor in utter shock. Then, Sans fell to the ground, laughing even louder than before. The entire floor had turned a lovely shade of harmless pink. Papyrus just stood there, his jawbone nearly touching the ground as Frisk walked across.

"Ummm" Frisk questioned. "Sorry Papyrus?"

Papyrus remained silent. He straightened up, turned around, and walked out of the clearing. Sans finally stopped laughing and stood up, facing Frisk.

"What are the odds, huh?" he asked. "Looks like you've got someone watching out for ya."

"Is Papyrus gonna be okay?" Frisk asked a bit worried.

Sans shrugged.

"My bro's pretty resilient." he replied. "Just be careful on his final puzzle. He's gonna go all out, mark my words."

Frisk was a little worried at that, but then Sans ruffled their hair.

"Don't sweat it, kid." He assured them. "Papyrus seems to like you. He won't hurt ya."

Frisk nodded at that, turning to thank Sans for the assurance. However, they were gone once more. Sighing, Frisk continued forward.

…..

The forest was clear for a while after that. No traps, no puzzles, no Papyrus. Frisk kept an eye out, but found nothing. There was piles of snow all around them, and yet another abandoned Sentry Station. Frisk was looking around, smiling at the playful snow piles. Suddenly, one in the distance let out a small yelp.

Frisk jumped, remembering the other dogs she had encountered. However, when they saw a small, fluffy head poke out of a small snow pile, they couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"A normal dog… phew..."

It's little head barked happily, it's tongue out as if waiting for a willing face to come forth so it could lick. Frisk happily walked over, slowly approaching the half-buried dog.

"Hey there little guy." Frisk said quietly. "Did you fall down here too?"

Frisk kneeled down, and placed their hand against the white fur of his head. The dog let out a soft Borf-sound and panted happily as it licked their gloves.

"Good dog." Frisk whispered. "How about we get you out of this snow."

Frisk began dusting the snow away, hoping to unbury the puppy. However, as the snow began to fall away, it revealed strange metal plates.

"Huh?"

The plates buckled and the snow began to drop off as the dog slowly stood up. The once small form slowly growing into a giant of a dog. A spear lifted from the snow, sharing the same goofy smiling face as it. The dog rose to nearly eight feet tall, then the dog looked down at Frisk with his silly simplistic face.

"That… is not a normal dog."

The dog let out a loud "Borf", bending down to sniff Frisk. Hoping to stay on the beast's good side, Frisk gave them another pet.

"Umm…. good boy…."

The dog leapt up, and fell on his back. His paws kicked up and his tongue drooped over his face as yet another loud 'Borf' came from its maw. Frisk chuckled slightly, giving the dog a scratch behind the ear.

"You just a big softy, aren't you?" Frisk asked.

The dog looked up at Frisk, its eyes as big as moons as it licked Frisk's face. It was then that Frisk realized that they still smelled like a puppy and giggled. This could have gone horrible if it hadn't been for Dogami and Dogaressa scaring them into hiding under the table.

"Funny how things work."

The dog nuzzled next to Frisk, pressing their whole weight into them as the large dog's eyes began to close. Frisk gasped before trying to push the dog away. The weight slowly became too much until finally, the dog buried Frisk under both its fur and the snow. Frisk struggled slightly but finally crawled out of the snow and became free.

Their sweater was covered in dog hair, and they spat out several hairs that had ended up in their mouth. They looked back at the dog, who was snoring loudly, leg twitching slightly. Frisk smiled, giving the dog one final pet before continuing on.

"These are some of the cutest deadly guardsmen I have ever seen." Frisk murmured as they continued their way further through the forest.

The trees, again, came apart and a wide cliff that extended forever opened up before them. Frisk stopped dead in their tracks as they looked down at the massive depths the chasm.

"Heights…." Frisk whimpered "Why did it have to be heights…?"

Seeing no other way across the chasm, Frisk gripped the rope railings of the bridge, slowly walking out onto it. Surprisingly, the bridge was not rickety, or even made of wood. In fact, it actually seemed to a stone pathway painted to look like a wooden bridge.

"Well... at least I don't have to worry about the planks giving way beneath me..."

The distance seemed to vanish as the 'bridge' went on. There was seemingly no end, and with every step it became impossible for Frisk to not look down. The tiny trees, the microscopic piles of snow, the sight of ant-like monsters roaring around. Frisk whimpered with every step, their knuckles white as they gripped the rope and their face a mask of barely contained fear.

"NYEHEHEHEHEH!" A familiar voice called out. "HUMAN! ARE YOU READY TO FACE YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE?!"

Frisk gasped, looking near the end of the 'bridge', where Papyrus and Sans stood waiting for them.

"Papyrus..." Frisk called quietly. "As much as I would love to do another puzzle, can it wait until I get off this thing? I'm… not good with heights…."

"THE HEIGHTS ARE THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES HUMAN! FEAST YOUR EYES ON….. THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

Papyrus laughed, then snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, the chasm was filled with mechanical whirring sounds. Then, multiple weapons and artillery began to emerge from underneath the bridge and from the ceiling. Maces, blades, fire, cannons, and even an annoying white dog tied to a rope. Frisk's eyes widened as they gripped the rope even harder. Papyrus noticed this, and seemed to hesitate a bit. Sans looked on in surprise, not expecting anything of this calibre from his brother.

"Papyrus….?" Frisk muttered. "What are you doing?"  
"Yeah Bro." Sans replied, "You should totally turn this on."

"Sans!" Frisk shouted.

"NO SANS" Papyrus called, "THAT WOULD BE TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN."

Sans suddenly turned to his brother as Frisk's ears perked up. They looked towards Papyrus, who was apparently having second thoughts about this particular plan..

"AS UNBELIEVABLE AS IT SOUNDS," Papyrus began, "I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS GIVES THE HUMAN A FAIR CHANCE! THERE IS NO PUZZLE HERE! NO, NO NO NO! THIS IS NOT CORRECT! THIS IS NOT A PUZZLE THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS-"

Sans grabbed the scarf and began to flap once again as Papyrus stood heroically.

"-WOULD FIND ACCEPTABLE! NO! THIS WILL NOT DO AT ALL! TAKE IT AWAY! TAKE IT ALL AWAY!"

Suddenly, the weapons, artillery, and so forth began to retreat back to where they came from. Frisk wasted little time, running off the 'bridge' to the safety of the other side. They collapsed to the ground, panting from the adrenaline and fear still trying to leave their system.

"Thanks Papyrus..." Frisk gasped.

"DO NOT THANK ME, HUMAN!" Papyrus replied, looking down at Frisk. "THIS WAS YET ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!"

Papyrus spun around, Sans still holding on as the scarf wrapped around his hands in a knot. Papyrus began to march away further into the forest with Sans being dragged behind him. Frisk chuckled at the predicament, then turned to notice a sign covered in christmas lights, which seemed to make Frisk feel a bit more determined.

"WELCOME TO SNOWDIN!"


	3. Papyrus

The town of Snowdin was one of the most fascinating, but also the oddest, things that Frisk had ever seen. Rustic wooden buildings were covered in the thick, clay-like snow which had halted much of Frisk's progress to this little hamlet. Surrounded by much taller trees than before, the village was decorated in festive lights and decorations as if it were christmas.

All around, monsters of all shapes and sizes walked about wearing thick coats and sweaters with mittens, gloves, boots, and so much more. Frisk smiled as they entered the town, happily eyeing the shops glistening with supplies. Music filled the air as some adults gathered around a reindeer-like creature, taking off pipe-cleaners and other similar decorations from its horns. A small, armless yellow monster ran around talking to others about leaving to go see someone, talking about their 'coolness'.

"I can't wait till tomorrow! I heard Undyne is coming!" He bragged, "She's the coolest monster in the whole Underground!"

Frisk merely raised an eyebrow in passing as they continued passed the buildings. Suddenly, the festive music slowly turned to smooth jazz and Frisk looked up to see a large neon sign atop a large rustic looking bar that read 'GRILLBY'S'. Frisk looked down at their stomach, rubbing it softly.

"Nope," They said to themselves, "Still full."

They smiled and passed by a few more houses before leaving the town, almost as quickly as they had entered. Although a few houses still remained, nothing of major interest stuck out other than a large wolf whom was throwing large ice blocks into the river. It was odd, but Frisk continued forth. Soon, a low fog began to roll in as Frisk proceeded, which seemed to thicken with each step. Soon Frisk had begun to realize that they could not see the road, and this worried them greatly.

There was no road at all, no forward or backwards and their footsteps seemed to have vanished in the ever growing fog. Frisk gripped the bandana, a worried expression coming across their face as they attempted to proceed through.

"HUMAN." A voice called through the fog, "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS..."

Frisk stopped walking, trying to find the source of the voice. Squinting through the fog, they could just barely see a tall figure in the distance.

"Papyrus?" Frisk called. "Where are you? I can barely see you."

"FEELINGS LIKE…" His voice continued as his form began to permeate the fog, unaware that Frisk had spoken. "THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA-LOVER! THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS, THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL! THESE FEELINGS, THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!"  
Frisk was barely listening to what Papyrus was saying, trying to use his voice to find him. They were getting close, but they didn't realize how close until they ran head first into him. Papyrus barely noticed, simply placing his boney and on their head.

"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THIS WAY!" Papyrus continued, ruffling Frisk's hair playfully. "AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER HAVE TO WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU, LONELY HUMAN. BUT WORRY NOW! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!"

Frisk looked up at him confused as he released their hair, doing his dramatic pose. His scarf suddenly flapping with no assistance, though for some reason, the scarf appeared to be blue rather than its usual red.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR-" Papyrus hesitated, his wide smile fading into an uncertain one. "NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!

He backed away from Frisk, his skeletal features hard. Frisk looked up at him, a nervous look in their eye.

"Papyrus, what are you saying?" Frisk questioned, "I thought we were friends."

"YOU ARE A HUMAN, AND THUS I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL, POPULARITY, PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST AND GREATEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

Frisk began to glow red, the red heart appearing on their chest as Papyrus stood in his heroic pose. Frisk returned their attention to Papyrus, who snapped his fingers and summoned an arsenal of various sized bones.

"Papyrus!" Frisk suddenly shouted, eyes wide in terror. "Stop this! I'm not your enemy!"

Papyrus narrowed his eyes as he stared down at Frisk and sighed.

"I WAS AFRAID YOU WOULD SAY THAT HUMAN!" Papyrus said as suddenly a pile of blue bones formed in his hand. "PREPARE FOR YOUR DEFEAT!"

Papyrus began throwing bones left and right, flying through the air. Frisk's eyes widened, covering their head with their arms. The bones passed through with no damage, as Frisk stood up slightly confused.

"Papyrus?" Frisk started with a bit of a smile, "I- I don't think you're attack did anything."

It was then that Frisk noticed their normally red aura had transformed to into a dark blue color. They suddenly felt heavier, their feet planted to the ground. They bent their legs, but their feet simply refused to leave the ground.

"What the-"

"NYEHEHEHEH!" Papyrus laughed, "JUST TRY TO DIVE OUT OF THE WAY WHEN YOU ARE STUCK TO THE GROUND! NOW YOU KNOW THE TRUE MIGHT OF MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Papyrus then prepared another attack. Snapping his fingers, creating a large wall of bones that slid towards Frisk. Their eyes widened as the large line of bones, all varying in height, came flying towards them. Unable to dive, Frisk did the only thing they could do. Jump.

Surprisingly, Frisk found themselves able to jump much higher than usual. In fact, they cleared the tallest bone, their sneaker just barely scuffing the top.

"How did I do that?" Frisk wondered aloud.

"HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THE WEAKNESS OF MY BLUE ATTACK?!" Papyrus demanded.

"Weakness?" Frisk repeated.

"YES! WHILE YOUR SOUL IS BLUE, YOU ARE UNABLE TO MOVE FROM WHERE YOU STAND, BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO JUMP MUCH HIGHER THAN ANY NORMAL HUMAN OR MONSTER!"

Frisk thought about that for a moment, then smiled.

"Hmm, maybe this will be fun after all."

Papyrus created another pile of bones, his smile filling with determination. These bones slid towards Frisk at a much fast rate. Frisk smiled and leapt, only to have them move suddenly. Frisk's eyes widened as they struck the bone and became trapped in their motion, knocked down then up, then down down again before rolling onto the cold snow sore.

"Ow…" Frisk murmured as they stood up, "That hurt."

Papyrus looked a bit pained as they saw Frisk.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, "SURRENDER NOW AND MAKE THIS EASY ON YOURSELF!"

Frisk slowly stood up, blood dripping from their nose.

"I can't surrender" Frisk replied, "I need to go home."

Papyrus looked sad, yet angry at their response. He raised his hand snapping his fingers once more, this time creating a huge cluster of moving bones all around Frisk. They began to close in, slower and slower. Frisk jumped on top of the moving skeletal forms, trying to avoid the mashing bones. Suddenly, the bones all dropped at once and Frisk fell. The bones rose up, and Frisk looked up.

"This is gonna hurt."

Frisk covered their head, awaiting the bones to fall. However, they just clattered to the ground around Frisk, much to their surprise.

"What…?"

"YOU ARE TOO WEAK, HUMAN!" Papyrus declared, walking towards Frisk as their red aura faded. "I SHALL NOW TAKE YOU TO THE HUMAN CAPTURE ZONE! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT, OUR GARAGE!"

He picked up Frisk, cradling them in his bony arms as everything went fuzzy, Before long, darkness overtook Frisk and the world went black.

…..

Another dream awaited Frisk as they slipped deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. They were back in that same darkness from before, seemingly floating in the middle of the sea of nothingness. Up ahead, they could make out a strange figure, completely obscured by the white light. It was hard to tell, but Frisk instinctively knew that the figure was a monster, and a young one too.

"Come on!" a young boy's voice called out. "Mom and Dad are waiting for us! We have to hurry or they'll leave us behind!"

Frisk slowly straightened up as the darkness opened before them like a curtain. The room that formed around them looked that that of the hallway from Toriel's house. The figure ran around the corner which lead to the front of the house. Frisk began running after the figure, outside of the house which now revealed to be a grand castle. Frisk looked around and saw the figure dash once more around a corner.

"Wait up!" Frisk called.

Frisk continued the chase and soon found themselves approaching the small field of buttercups that they had landed on upon their arrived to the underground. Kneeling at the edge of the field was that same figure. It had its back to Frisk, but it was obviously a kid of some sort, and definitely a monster.

"I miss you..." The boy seemed to sob, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. "Come back to me..."

…..

Frisk sat up with a start, their back popping as they did so. Everything hurt, from their head to their back, and even their arms and legs. As Frisk began to get their bearings, they were a bit confused at what they saw. They were in some sort of cell, most likely Papyrus' 'Human Capture Zone' judging by the thick, widely spaced bars blocking the door. Looking down, Frisk realized they were laying on some sort of doggy bed, which was ragged and misshapen, with a ratty blanket on top of them. In the corner of the cell was a doggy dish with some dog food in it and another bowl filled with greenish liquid labeled "Water".

"Heh..." Frisk chuckled. "I looks like he tried to take care of me."

Frisk stood up, slowly walking through the bars towards a small hook that held their backpack. After retrieving it, Frisk began tiptoeing towards the exit, just in case someone was guarding the door. As they approached the door, they could hear two muffled voices just on the other side.

"I hear Papyrus..." Frisk thought, placing their ear against the door, "But who is the other person?"

Curiosity getting the better of them, Frisk slowly opened the door, peeking through the crack. They appeared to be back in Snowdin, in the small shed next to one of the few houses they had passed their first time through. It was a fair-sized house with large christmas lights and Frisk slightly remembered a small shed that had been off to the side. It didn't take a genius to figure that was where Frisk had been put after passing out. Frisk then looked on the other side of the door, hearing the voices coming from that side. There was Papyrus, laughing and joking and doing his silly hero pose.

"AND SO I TOLD THE HUMAN TO STAND BACK OR I WOULD HAVE TO HURT THEM SEVERELY." Papyrus explained, "THE HUMAN WAS QUICK TO WET THEIR PANTS AND PASS OUT AT MY COURAGE AND BRAVERY!"

Suddenly, the other voice spoke. It was deep, and bellowed like an echo in a mineshaft. Frisk opened the door a bit more and saw a hulking suit of armor with a glowing green eye standing in front of Papyrus. Its arms crossed as Papyrus continued his rambling story, following along with every word.

"Excellent Papyrus," The suit of armor spoke, its voice demonically deep, even deeper than Sans' when he had introduced himself. "Now, I must go inform the king of your success."

"SHALL I FINALLY BECOME MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, UNDYNE?!" Papyrus asked, his eye sockets wide and pleading.

The suit's eye narrowed as it looked down at him.

"I will consider it, but for now just watch over the human and make sure it does not escape." Papyrus nodded at the commands. "I want to ensure that I can rip that human's soul clean from its body with my OWN BARE HANDS!"

Frisk flinched as the suit clenched its hands, the metal of its fists creaking and bending slightly. Papyrus may have been harmless, but that suit of armor obviously wasn't. As it turned away from the door, Frisk dove through the crack, taking refuge in a small bush beside the shed. There Frisk remained as the suit of armor walked away, metallic boots clanking loudly with every step.

"Who… who was that?" Frisk whispered.

"That was Undyne." Sans replied coming from the bush, causing Frisk to jump. "The Captain of the Royal Guard."

Frisk turned to Sans, their eyes wide with fear as they covered their mouth to suppress a surprised yelp. Sans just smiled his usual grin.

"Sans!" They hissed.

"Hey kid." Sans replied. "How's it shaking? You hungry?"

Frisk looked at Sans, then a loud rumbling came from their stomach. Apparently they were unconscious longer than they thought.

"Yeah… Kinda."

"Well then, how's about we go get something at Grillby's?" Sans asked. "Best restaurant in Snowdin."

Frisk nodded, slowly climbing out of the bush. Sans then walked in between the bushes, headed towards the rear of the house.

"Follow me," He said. "I know a shortcut."

Frisk was confused, but followed Sans. After what felt like a few steps, Frisk found themselves standing at the front door of Grillby's blinking. Frisk turned around, then looked down the street. Sans and Papyrus' house was all the way down the street, and yet it had only taken a few steps.

"How did-" Frisk began.

Sans didn't answer. Instead, he held the door open, gesturing for Frisk to enter. Frisk did just that, and was surprised to find that Grillby's was more than just a restaurant. It was a very lively, very crowded, bar.

Monsters and creatures Frisk had never seen before filled the booths and tables scattered about the place. Behind the bar, a man made entirely out of fire wearing typical bartender's clothes stood cleaning a glass.

"How's it goin' everybody?" Sans called out, waving his bony hand at the patrons.

"SANS!" The restaurant greeted.

Sans smiled as he walked up to the stool, jumping to sit into it. Frisk followed, climbing onto the bar stool to get a good seat.

"Hey," Sans turned to Frisk, handing them a menu. "Whatcha want to eat, Kid"

Frisk thought for a moment, glancing at the very limited selection on the menu. Their finger pressed against their lip before turning to the Grillby.

"I'd like the Hamburger and fries, please." Frisk eventually decided.

Sans smiled, then turned to Grillby, holding out the menu.

"Make it a double order of the burg' with fries."

Grillby grunted, before walking into the back. The doors opened and shut with a loud thud as Sans turned to Frisk, leaning against the Bar.

"So what do you think of my brother?" Sans asked after a moment of tense silence. "Pretty cool, right?"

Frisk nodded.

"Papyrus is a lot of fun to be around. That, and he's a good fighter." Frisk said, giggling as they rubbed their head. "My head still hurts."

Sans chuckled as well as the kitchen doors opened again. Grillby came out, two plates laden with two fresh hamburgers and a large pile of fries. Frisk practically salivated at the sight and smell of the food as Grillby went back to cleaning the glassware. Sans grabbed a bottle of ketchup, holding it out to Frisk.

"Ketchup?" he asked.

Frisk shook their head.

"No thank you." They replied.

"More for me." Sans shrugged.

In one large gulp, Sans drank the entire bottle of ketchup. He wiped the residue off the sides of his jawbones as Frisk began eating. The burger was perfect and the fries were nice and crunchy. Sans seemed to pick at his fries before looking over at Frisk again.

"You know, my brother Papyrus really wants to become a Royal Guardsman." Sans said, his voice a bit distant. "I mean, he once went to Undyne's house and begged to join. Undyne just slammed the door in his face, and went back to bed. The next day though, you shoulda' seen Undyne's face when they saw Papyrus still there, sleeping like a baby on their front porch. Undyne saw discipline in Papyrus and has been training him ever since."

Sans grabbed another bottle of ketchup and began drinking it as well. Frisk watched them, till eating away at the delicious burger.

"So that scary suit of armor is training Papyrus?" Frisk asked. "Considering how easily Papyrus defeated me, I do not want to go up against them."

Sans didn't really reply. In fact, he seemed lost in thought after Frisk mentioned his brother's name. After a minute, the entire bar seemed to go quiet as Sans spoke up again.

"You know," Sans started, before the room seemed to freeze. "I wanted to ask you something."

The music that had been playing idly in the background came to a stop, and for a moment, it was as if the entire bar was empty, leaving only Frisk and Sans.

"Have you ever heard of a talking flower?" Sans asked,

Frisk froze, their thoughts going immediately to Flowey. They gave a tiny nod as Sans continued.

"Papyrus was telling me once how he hears one sometimes. It talks to him, nothing bad really. It gives him some advice on certain things, and even encouragement. However…"

Sans' smiling expression seemed to dim without any real change to his expression at all.

"Lately, Papyrus has been telling sometimes that have been coming true, predictions and stuff. I can't tell if he is getting this advice from anyone real or if someone is playing a trick on him. I am a bit worried."

Suddenly, the music began blasting. The monsters throughout the room began to move again and the lights shined brightly and Sans' expression returned to normal.  
"Man," Sans said, as he jumped off his stool. "Listen to me... Never thought I'd sound like such a downer. Heh, maybe I'm overthinking this, it's probably some dork with an Echo Flower messing with him."

Grillby suddenly growled as he slammed the cup he had been cleaning onto the bar. Frisk jumped as Sans looked over his shoulder.

"Hey Grillby, put the burgs on my tab." Sans then glanced at Frisk, "Unless my friend here wants to pay the 50,000 Gold fine for 'em!"

Frisk froze before Sans laughed with his hand waving in the air as he walked away. Frisk sat there for a minute, looking up at Grillby in slight confusion.

"What was that all about?" Frisk asked.

Grillby just growled, but said nothing. Frisk shrugged as they jumped from their chair.

"Good luck…" A voice called just as they opened the door.

Frisk stopped and looked over their shoulder to Grillby cleaning glasses again. Figuring it must have been Grillby, Frisk smiled, then walked out the bar and back into Snowdin. Once more, they made it only a few steps out of town before the thick fog blocked their vision. Through the opaque whiteness, Frisk could see Papyrus' silhouette searching the fog.

"HUMAN!"he shouted, a frantic note to his voice. "HUMAN! WHERE ARE YOU?! OH WHY DID THEY HAVE TO ESCAPE! THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE! HUMAN!"

Frisk followed Papyrus' voice once more, locating them in the fog.

"Papyrus!" Frisk shouted. "I'm over here!"

The form in the shadows rose up, as if hearing the voice and then appeared to look around before stopping and placing their hand over their brow.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, "I FOUND YOU! AT LAST!"

Papyrus began walking through the snow until he was nearly a foot to them. Looking down at them with an expression of relief instead of anger.

"I WAS SO WORR-" he stopped and seemed to change to a faux angered look. "I WAS SO UPSET THAT YOU ESCAPED! THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAD MADE SUCH A MISTAKE THAT ALLOWED YOU TO ESCAPE! I MUST TRY HARDER TO PREVENT THIS IN THE FUTURE. BUT NO MATTER! IT IS TIME, HUMAN, FOR ROUND TWO! ARE YOU READY!"

Suddenly Papyrus became surrounded with the same bone moves as before. Frisk paused, that same worried look crossing their face. However, it quickly vanished as an idea came to Frisk. They faced Papyrus and smiled.

"Do we really have to fight?" Frisk asked.

The question caught Papyrus off guard. He seemed to blink, looking at Frisk in confusion.

"WHAT?"

"Do we have to fight?" Frisk repeated. "I had fun solving your puzzles, and you make really good spaghetti. You seem like someone I'd rather have as a friend rather than as an enemy."

Frisk then rubbed the back of their head, which was still hurting slightly.

"Besides, I don't think I could win in a fight against you anyways."

Papyrus seemed to mull this over for a bit, as if considering Frisk's words. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted in his normal fashion. "I- I DON'T REALLY WANT TO FIGHT YOU EITHER."

His expression became relieved as the bones disappeared. Frisk let out a relieved sigh, hugging onto his leg in gratitude.

"SO THIS MEANS ONLY ONE COURSE OF ACTION CAN COMMENCE." Papyrus continued, "WE MUST GO ON A DATE!"

Frisk's eyes suddenly opened as they released Papyrus' legs.

"Wait…. What?"

"YES! A DATE!" Papyrus shouted, "A TRUE COMMITMENT OF OUR EVER-LASTING BOND! IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS! YOU AND ME! I HAVE PREPARED FOR THIS, HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE ULTIMATE PUZZLE...UNLOCKING MY HEART! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!

Papyrus then scooped Frisk up, tucking them under his arm as he made his way back towards Snowdin. The entire time Frisk just hung there, still trying to process what was going on.

…..

When Papyrus finally set Frisk down, they seemed to be just the outside of Snowdin. This was made evident thanks to a large sign saying 'You are now leaving - SNOWDIN: We Snow-ope to see you soon!". Papyrus looked down at the child and smiled. Frisk tried to return the smile, but still was a bit confused by what was going on. Still, Frisk decided to go along with it, figuring anything was better than another battle with the tall skeleton.

"FOLLOW ME HUMAN! I WILL TAKE YOU TO MY FAVORITE SPOT IN TOWN!" Papyrus began walking quickly, "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR AMAZEMENT!"

Frisk quickly ran after them, trying to figure out just where Papyrus was headed. The two ran around the Inn, the General Store, and the 'Librarby' before reaching Grillby's. They went inside for a brief moment, only to leave a second later. They finally reached a small igloo just beside the restaurant, one that Papyrus dove into. Frisk scrambled after him, surprised to find that the igloo was actually the entrance to a very straight underground tunnel. It was quick dark, but luckily, Papyrus waited for Frisk and offered his gloved hand to escort them to the end. Finally, the two emerged from an identical igloo, just outside of Papyrus' house.

"HERE IT IS HUMAN!" Papyrus said, pointing to his house, "MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE WORLD! MY HOUSE! COME ON IN! I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO HAVE FRIENDS OVER!"

Papyrus ran inside, Frisk staring at the house in confusion while attempting to catch their breath.

"Did we…. Just…. Run in a big circle?"

They stood there for a minute, then they started laughing.

"Maybe this… date…. Will be fun.

They walked into the large house, where Papyrus was standing, as if waiting for them to enter. When he saw Frisk enter, his large smile grew a fraction bigger as he clasped his hands together like a child wanting to surprise his parents.

"So this is your house?" Frisk asked. "Looks cozy."

And cozy it was. The front door led to a spacious living room, where a large, flat screen TV rested on a small TV table. The couch, light green save for a patch here and there, was clean, and perfect for two people to sit on comfortably. There were two other tables, a long one that stretched across the far wall, adorned only by a single plate bearing a sprinkle covered stone. Frisk looked at the stone curiously.

"What's this?" Frisk asked.

"THAT IS OUR PET ROCK!" Papyrus explained. "UNFORTUNATELY, SANS IS ALWAYS FORGETTING TO FEED IT, LEAVING THE AMAZING ME WITH THAT DAILY TASK!"

Frisk giggled as before turning away and spotting something odd by the TV table. It appeared to be a sock, and above the sock were several post-it notes. In fact, the notes seemed to be having a conversation, one in Sans' handwriting, and they other obviously in Papyrus'.

"SANS! PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SOCK!"

"Ok."

"DON'T PUT IT BACK DOWN! MOVE IT!"

"Ok."

"YOU MOVED IT TWO INCHES! MOVE IT TO YOUR ROOM!"

"Ok."

"AND DON'T BRING IT BACK!"

"Ok."

"IT'S STILL HERE!"

"Didn't you just say not to bring it back to my room?"

"FORGET IT!"

Frisk let out a laugh at the craziness of the entire conversation. Papyrus noticed Frisk's laugh and came over, looking down at the sock with pure agitation.

"THAT SANS!" He spoke, "I SWEAR! HE IS JUST A PILE OF LAZY BONES!"

Suddenly a slight creak could be heard upstairs and the sad trombone could be heard briefly before the sudden slamming of a door. Papyrus' skull grew bright red.

"HIM AND HIS INCIDENTAL MUSIC!" Papyrus called, shaking his fist in anger. "BAH! BUT LET HIS ANTICS NOT RUIN OUR DATE! FOLLOW ME TO OUR FOOD MUSEUM!"

Frisk stopped laughing, looking up at Papyrus in confusion

"Food Muse-"

Before Frisk could finish, Papyrus grabbed their hand and dragged them into the kitchen. The orange and white tile was bright and the kitchen resembled a kitchen much like the one that they had left back home at the orphanage. This brought a slight tear to their face as Papyrus smiled.

"YES!" Papyrus called, snapping Frisk out of their solemnness, "OUR FOOD MUSEUM! PLEASE COME AND ENJOY. IT IS REALLY A TREAT FOR THE EYES!"

He then opened the fridge door and revealed a vast assortment of containers holding spaghetti on one side. The other side was dominated by a collection of chip bags and other snack foods, all of them with SANS written (poorly) in red marker.

"YOU KNOW!" He started, "AS A SELF-PROCLAIMED FIVE-STAR CHEF AND FOOD CRITIC, I MUST SAY THAT THIS IS MY BEST CREATION YET!"

Papyrus took one of the containers and put it in a rather large microwave, pressing a few buttons as the microwave hummed. As it warmed up, Papyrus turned his attention to the bare dining table.

"THIS WILL NOT DO!" Papyrus exclaimed, "FOR US TO CONTINUE OUR DATE, WE MUST USE OUR FINEST SILVERWARE!"

Papyrus turned around to a large drawer and opened it. Suddenly, a white, furry head popped out. Frisk recognized it as the head of the annoying dog that seemed to be everywhere. The drawer was clearly too small for the dog, which made Frisk blink in confusion, however, they did not question it. The dog barked briefly before running along the counter, jumping through an open window.

"AGGRAVATING HOUND!" Papyrus scowled, "I DO NOT KNOW HOW HE CONTINUALLY FINDS HIS WAY INTO MY BONE DRAWER!"

Papyrus sighed and continued digging in the drawers. He eventually found what appeared to be some rather nice plates (though they seemed to be chipped and cracked in places) and a handful of plastic forks and spoons.

"YOU KNOW, I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND IT ODD THAT SILVERWARE IS MADE OF PLASTIC!" Papyrus commented, "IT SHOULD REALLY BE MADE OF SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE. LIKE GOLD, OR EVEN LOVE!"

Just then, the microwave dinged loudly and the room filled with the pleasant scent of cooked spaghetti. Despite having just eaten as Grillby's with Sans, Frisk found themselves hungry at the sight of the food. They passed it off as all the walking they had been doing, as well as the jog around Snowdin they just took.

"PREPARE YOURSELF, HUMAN!" Papyrus said as he poured some onto a pair of plates, "THE FOOD HAS FINISHED!"

"And it smells delicious, Papyrus." Frisk said as they made their way to the table.

Papyrus set a plate in front of them before placing one plate in front of himself. He dug the fork into the spaghetti and gave it a twist and watched as Frisk did the same. Frisk slurped down the spaghetti to hide their grin as Papyrus then pulled out a boombox and pressed the play button, trombone romance music began playing.

"HERE WE ARE!" He began, "ON OUR DATE! I- I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY DONE THIS BEFORE. BUT DO NOT WORRY! YOU CAN'T SPELL "PREPARED" WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!"

Suddenly, he reached under his shirt and pulled out a rather large book with 1950s-styled cover which read clearly "100,000 WAYS TO PREPARE DATES!", although it may have been a cookbook for fruit than an actual date book.

"I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL DATING RULEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARBY! WE ARE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!" He put the book close to his face, and his eyes shifted back and forth through the pages. "NOW, WHERE TO BEGIN! HMMM. STEP ONE! PREPARE THE DATING HUD!"

Briefly he looked confused before scanning the book.

"I DON'T THINK THAT APPLIES TO THIS MEDIUM!" He stated, "THAT MEANS WE CAN GO TO STEP TWO! STEP TWO: ASK THEM TO A DATE."

Papyrus cleared his throat as Frisk looked confused, spaghetti hanging from their mouth and sauce running down their chin.

"HUMAN! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON A DATE WITH ME!?"

Before Frisk could swallow, Papyrus snapped the book back to his face.

"FORTUNATELY IT ONLY SAYS TO ASK, SO IT IS ONTO STEP THREE!"

Frisk giggled. Taking another full fork of spaghetti into their mouth.

"STEP THREE! PUT ON SOME NICE CLOTHES AND-" Papyrus stopped for a moment, fixed on a word. "WEAR...CLOTHES? WAIT A SECOND! THAT BANDANNA! THOSE GLOVES! THAT LOVELY SWEATER! YOU ARE WEARING CLOTHES RIGHT NOW! AND EARLIER, DURING OUR FIGHT, YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHES THEN TOO!"

Frisk looked down at their blue and pink sweater, which was covered in dirt, mud, dead leaves, and spaghetti sauce. The bandanna was also muddy and the gloves were soaked. Frisk wasn't exactly in the best of shape, which made them feel bad, especially since Papyrus was doing his best,

"NO...COULD IT BE!" Papyrus blushed, "THAT YOU HAVE WANTED TO DATE ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!"

"Ummm, not-" Frisk attempted to say before suddenly interrupted by the boisterous voice of Papyrus.

"DESPITE THAT! YOU CHOSE TO WEAR CLOTHES TODAY, OF ALL DAYS! ARE YOU SAYING-" Papyrus' face turned beat-red once more. "THAT YOUR INTEREST WAS TRULY ME...PREDESTINED… NO- NOOOO! YOUR DATING POWER IS GREAT!"

Papyrus violently shook, and suddenly Sans appeared with a slight gray bar over Papyrus' head and filling a small portion in with blue marker. Frisk raised an eyebrow, but Sans just put a finger bone to his jaw, obviously telling Frisk to keep quiet.

"NYEH" Papyrus chuckled, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH! DON'T THINK YOU HAVE BESTED ME JUST YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN AT DATING. AND I NEVER WILL! YOU SEE! I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHES! IN FACT, I WEAR "SPECIAL CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES JUST IN CASE SOMEONE ASKS ME ON A DATE! BEHOLD!"

Papyrus jumped out and ran upstairs at breakneck speeds. It took a small moment before Frisk heard Papyrus' steps coming back down the stairs.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus called, Frisk turned to face them and their eyes widened. "LET THE 'REAL' DATE BEGIN!"

Frisk stared at Papyrus, their eyes widening as an amused smile spread across their face. Papyrus had changed out of his original outfit into one of the most ridiculous ensembles Frisk had ever seen. A backwards baseball hat now sat proudly on his head, his normal shoulder pads replaced with ones painted to look like large basketballs. His chestplate was now a t-shirt with the word DUDE on it as a logo and a nicely written "COOL" above it. His leggings were now a pair of light blue shorts which revealed knee high socks and bright red tennis shoes.

"NYEH HEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!"

"Wow, nice outfit." Frisk commented.

Papyrus' eyes crossed in surprise and his whole body shook. Sans stood up once again and filled the bar even more before slipping back behind Papyrus.

"YOU- YOU REALLY LIKE IT!" Papyrus stuttered, then an awkward silence followed. "HOWEVER! YOU DO NOT TRULY UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF MY SECRET OUTFIT AND THEREFORE- YOUR COMMENT IS INVALID!"

Sans climbed up and erased a little from it. Frisk raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"UNLESS - YOU CAN FIND MY SECRET GIFT!"

Frisk stood up, cocking their head in confusion.

"Secret gift?" Frsk asked, before noticing a clearly odd shape in his hat. "You mean that weird bulge under your hat?"  
"MY HAT…? MY HAT!" Papyrus grabbed his hat, slowly removing it to show a tightly wrapped present on his head. "I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE. IT IS A PRESENT, A PRESENT JUST FOR YOU!"

Frisk looked at the present, a smile on their face. Being an orphan, gifts were an incredibly rare occurrence. Frisk carefully undid the packaging, making sure to not rip or tear any pieces off of it, before opening the box. Inside was a bone, a pearly white bone that looked sturdy and strong. Frisk took it, surprised at how heavy it was.

"THAT WAS THE BONE I USED IN OUR FIRST FIGHT!" Papyrus said, "I REMEMBER IT BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONE THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT."

Frisk chuckled a bit more nervously.

"It is, huh?" They replied, rubbing the back of their head. "Well, I gotta say, when you fight, you don't hold back. There's no way I could have ever defeated you."

"NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE HUMAN!" Papyrus said properly, placing his hand on his chest with pride. "I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I HAD A -BONE TO PICK"

The sound of a sad trombone echoed from upstairs with a sudden slam of the door, as Papyrus' face turned bright red. Frisk looked at the bone up and down before handing it back to Papyrus. He looked confused as he held the bone in his hand as Frisk smiled.

"I think a future Royal Guardsman will have more use for it than I would." Frisk told him. "After all, if this bone can knock out a human, then wouldn't it be better for you to keep it?"

"YOU'RE- YOU'RE LETTING ME KEEP IT?" Papyrus stuttered. "IMPOSSIBLE! YOU- YOU TURNED MY PRESENT ON ME!"

Frisk giggled and then kissed Papyrus on the cheekbone as the skeleton remained in a state of shock. His whole body was as stiff as a board, something that made Frisk more than a little nervous.

"Papyrus?" Frisk asked.

Papyrus seemed to snap out of and his expression became one of confusion and excitement.

"HUMAN!" He exclaimed, "IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH ME! EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT HAS ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE. HUMAN! I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO. I BELIEVE IT TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS TOO! IT IS TIME THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, EXPRESS THAT-"

He slightly coughed, his skull still bright red as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. Frisk cocked their head as Papyrus looked away, glancing all around the room for some form of distraction. Sans had since returned to behind Papyrus, removing the whiteboard from behind him and erasing it clean.

"BOY, IS IT GETTING HOT IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME?" Papyrus asked, still pulling his collar nervously, "OH- OH SHOOT…"

He sighed, his expression becoming one of worry and guilt. A similar expression took Frisk as they stood from the table, walking over to their friend.

"HUMAN, I DON'T LIKE YOU THE WAY YOU LIKE ME." Frisk blinked as Papyrus revealed this, "ROMANTICALLY I MEAN! I MEAN, I THOUGHT BECAUSE YOU FLIRTED WITH ME THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU! THEN, THE FEELINGS WOULD MERELY BLOSSOM AND I WOULD BE ABLE TO MATCH YOUR FURIOUS PASSION FOR ME! BUT ALAS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE FAILED."

Frisk gave a clearly fake, exaggerated gasp to help match Papyrus' words. Papyrus turned dramatically and looked into a wall, as if speaking into some unknown middle distance as Sans began to play a solemn tune on his trombone.

"AND INSTEAD, BY DATING YOU, I HAVE ONLY DRAWN YOU DEEPER…" Papyrus continued, clutching his ribcage as Frisk tried to do a similar motion to play along. "INTO YOUR INTENSE LOVE FOR ME! A DARK PRISON OF PASSION IN WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE. HOW COULD I HAVE DONE THIS TO MY DEAR FRIEND!..."

Papyrus then spun around, the music stopped as his saddened expression became happy like his usual appearance.

"NO! WAIT! THIS IS ALL WRONG! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Frisk nodded in agreement as Papyrus placed his foot on the now empty chair in front of him and posed.

"I CAN'T FAIL AT ANYTHING!" He then pointed at Frisk, who jumped in surprise. "HUMAN! I WILL HELP YOU THROUGH THESE TRYING TIMES, BY BEING YOUR COOL FRIEND! AND ACT LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENED… AFTER ALL, YOU ARE VERY GREAT. IT WOULD BE TRAGIC TO LOSE YOUR FRIENDSHIP! SO DO NOT CRY BECAUSE WE NEVER KISSED, FORE I HAVE NO LIPS! AND NEVER FEAR! SOMEDAY YOU'LL FIND SOMEONE AS GREAT AS I AM, WELL...NOT 'AS' GREAT BUT CLOSE ENOUGH FOR YOUR STANDARDS! SOMEONE WHO COULD ONLY BE CONSIDERED 'SECOND BEST'! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus laughed and Frisk soon found it to be infectious. They began to laugh together, hugging onto each other as they continue to chuckle louder and louder. It became too much for even Sans,\ and entered the hug as well, chuckling himself.

...

Once the laughter had died away, Papyrus changed back into his "battle body" and escorted Frisk through the blinding fog. Surprisingly, the snow parted not long after the fog dissipated, giving way to deep purple, almost black, stone floors and walls.

"So if I follow this path, it will lead me to the end of the Underground?" Frisk asked, staring into the expanding darkness of the cave.

"THAT IS CORRECT!" Papyrus said with a nod. "ONCE YOU REACH THE END OF THE PATH, YOU'LL RUN RIGHT INTO KING ASGORE! LUCKY FOR YOU, HE'S A BIG SOFTY! I'M SURE IF YOU GO TO HIM AND SAY 'EXCUSE ME MISTER ASGORE, CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?', HE'LL LEAD YOU THROUGH THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

Frisk was a bit skeptical, but considering how nice both Sans and Papyrus had been, as well as how easily they had been able to get the dogs on their side, maybe there was a chance. Frisk went to walk off, but Papyrus suddenly spoke up again.

"ALSO, HERE IS MY PHONE NUMBER!" Papyrus said as he fished into the pocket, pulling out a slip of paper with numbers scrawled on it.. "DON'T LOSE IT! IT IS THE GREATEST PHONE NUMBER YOU WILL EVER POSSESS!"

Frisk took the slip, and though the numbers were illegible, they slipped it into their pocket. They then hugged the skeleton, surprising him immensely. After a moment, he returned the hug, then watched as Frisk began walking off.

"Bye Papyrus." Frisk called as they walked out of the snow. "And thanks for everything!"


	4. Waterfall

It was an almost seamless transition, the sound of crunching snow under their feet quickly became that of echoed footsteps on stone. As Frisk looked down, surprised to see the solid, purple-black stone before turning back over their shoulder. They had walked for some distance, but the sight of the cold, white, winter wonderland that was Snowden could still be seen. Frisk smiled, then sighed as they turned around to continue.

Their mind was distracted by memories of the 'date' with Papyrus, and how much fun they'd had that Frisk didn't even notice the sound of rushing water overcoming the patter of every step. Without warning, Frisk felt a rather sharp pain on her head, as if something had been dropped on it. Yelping in surprise, they fell forward, gripping their head as they fell into a shallow stream of water. Frisk's face was red with tears as they rubbed their head, trying to figure out what hit them. After a moment, a fair-sized rock landed with a splash beside Frisk. It was accompanied by about three more of similar shape and size. Looking up, Frisk soon realized they were near a large waterfall, one that was currently showering them with rocks as well as water..

Leaping to their feet, Frisk dove onto the solid shore of the other side before looking back at the torrent waterfall. From where they sat, they could see all of the fallen rocks that were being washed away. They grumbled, rubbing the new golf ball sized bruise on their scalp and wiping the tears from their eyes.

"That hurt..." Frisk muttered. "That really hurt."

Still, Frisk wasn't one to let a little pain stop them. They pressed on, the sound of rushing water soon fading behind them. The cave ceiling began to take on a new appearance the farther they traveled. No longer was there falling snow or the tall cave ceilings from before, but a rather decorative assortment of blue colored gems that shimmered like stars above their head. The dark cave was dimly lit by these crystals, and Frisk found themselves unable to take their eyes off of them. It was as if these crystals were the underground's versions of stars.

Then, Frisk began to feel tangled. Their whole form came crashing into the ground, and as they stood up, they found themselves surrounded by tall green grass.

"Huh?" Frisk wondered as they struggled to untangle themselves. "What is this? Grass?"

The grass bound them like ropes, but with a bit of effort, Frisk was able to free an an arm. They went to free their other arm, but a conversation caught their attention.

"UMM, HELL- HELLO UNDYNE!" A high-pitched, almost nasally voice spoke. "I HEARD THAT YOU CALLED FOR ME"

Frisk recognized the voice. It was Papyrus, though his normally confident, plucky voice that Frisk had grown fond of was not present. This was a nervous voice, and Frisk could swear they heard the gentle clicking of his bony hands shaking amidst the rustle of the grass.

"I heard that you allowed the human to escape " a low, almost demonically deep voice spoke.

Frisk went still at the sound of Undyne's voice, then they slowly turned their head upwards. The grass they were currently tangled in laid at the foot of a cliff, where Frisk could just barely make out the silhouettes of Papyrus and Undyne.

"I'm disappointed in you, Papyrus." Undyne chastised him. "You LET this human escape, despite knowing full well that King Asgore's plan… no… The entire underground's hopes, rely on us taking that human's soul."

Their was the metallic sound of Undyne's boots on the stone as they look down into the tall grass. Frisk didn't dare move, praying that Undyne couldn't see them.

"You leave me no choice, Papyrus." Undyne continued. "I MUST hunt this human down myself."

Papyrus gasped, running over to Undyne. Despite the dimness of the area, Frisk could see the worry etched on his skull.

"BUT UNDYNE-!" Papyrus tried.

The helmet shifted, one large glowing green eye shimmering from the small opening of the helmet. That single gesture quickly silenced whatever words Papyrus planned to speak. He merely stood there, shaking at Undyne's presence.

"I WANTED TO…" Papyrus looked away, trying to figure out what to say next. "WISH YOU LUCK?"

"Luck, heh." Undyne clenched their armored fist with a metallic crunching sound. "I will capture this human in rain or shine, heat or cold, even if it kills me."

The conversation seemed to end there as Papyrus seemingly walked away in defeat. Frisk soon heard Undyne's distinctive footsteps slowly fading away into the darkness. Frisk breathed a sigh of relief, then began pulling themselves free once more. A small grunt escaped their lips and the distinct stomping stopped.

"What was that?"

Frisk froze, mentally screaming at how Undyne had been alerted by such a tiny noise. Their footsteps drew closer once more, coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff. Covered by grass, Frisk could barely make out a strange, blue light. It almost reminded Frisk of a glowstick, only much longer and shaped like a spear. Frisk couldn't even whimper, their brain wracked with terror as Undyne just stood there with a spear poised for attack. The helmet glanced over the heavy grass with a cautious turn before finally making the spear disappear, shaking their helmet in dismay.

"I'm hearing things." They decided, marching off once more.

Despite Undyne's footsteps vanishing, it was a good two minutes before Frisk dared to move again. With a quick twist of the wrist and a roll, the bindings around their leg broke and Frisk was free once more. They smiled at their freedom, rubbing their sore leg.

"WOWIE! DID YOU SEE THAT!" A loud voice exploded from behind.

Frisk jumped about a mile in the air, turning around as fast as they could. For a moment, they feared they were discovered by someone working for Undyne, but that fear was quickly squashed as they got a closer look at whom had spoken.

A small dragon like child stood in the grass behind them, the back of his head covered in a series of white spines that ran down his back. He looked at Frisk with a sense of awe in his eyes, which sported their own black circles around them.

"UNDYNE LOOKED TOTALLY COOL! AND THEY LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!"

Frisk stood their for a minute as their heart stopped racing. The monster kid looked at Frisk, smiling widely, a large gap where a tooth once was.

"Yo!" He called. "My name is Nerville, what's yours?"

Frisk blinked, then finally regained their voice.

"Frisk." They replied. "I'm Frisk."

"Frisk huh?" The monster kid spoke up, his toothy grin appearing. "That's a cool name, dude!"

Frisk blinked in a bit of surprise as Nerville ran ahead before stopping to look over his shoulder at Frisk.

"Come on, dude!"

Frisk looked at the monster kid in confusion.

"Where are we going?" Frisk asked.

"To go find Undyne so we can watch them beat someone up!"

Nerville grinned before running his small legs further into the tall grass before vanishing out of sight, Frisk sighed and shook their head. Nerville had reminded them of so many of the children back at the orphanage, so much vigor and happiness in one small body. They soon began to follow, stepping through the tall grass and roots and watching their step before finally coming on the other side into the open air of the cave.

Not surprisingly, the monster kid had already vanished, so Frisk continued forward. In the distance, the sound of running water began to echo through the cave. Their ears perked up and they began to follow the sound, going deeper and deeper into the cave. Eventually, Frisk ended up at a large, wide river with large lilypad plants forming a makeshift bridge. A bit confused, Frisk looked down, grabbing a small stone and throwing it. The stone landed hard on the lilypad before the plant reformed, sending the stone sailing upward again before landing in the water. Frisk smiled before taking off their bandana and gloves, stuffing them in their pocket.

"Here. Goes. Nothing!" Frisk cried, running towards the lilypads.

Frisk jumped, landing hard onto the lilypad. They sank hard into the water, and almost immediately, the lilypad began to reform. Frisk was launched upward, flying like a trapeze artist. Smiling ear to ear and their legs kicking about they sprung forward, giggling happily as they landed on another lilypad. The lilypad sprung upward again, and Frisk flew forward. Frisk looked towards the next lilypad and smiled, and prepared to land. Their feet hit the plant, but the edges sank into the water and Frisk fell into the cold water.

Frisk came up, spitting out water and shivering. With some difficulty, they managed to swim to the edge of the river before climbing out.

"That was cold." Frisk muttered, their teeth chattering.

Frisk began ringing out their sweater, and quickly checked their cell phone to make sure it wasn't damaged. Somehow, the phone was still working, despite being soaked.

"Wow..." Frisk whispered in awe, "This thing can really take a beating."

As if on cue, the screen lit up with a phone symbol which read "(THE GREAT) PAPYRUS is calling" and a small skull symbol. Frisk jumped in surprise at the loud ringing before hitting the answer button.

"Papyrus?" Frisk answered, surprised to have gotten a call from the skeleton.

"YES, DEAR HUMAN!" Papyrus replied, forcing Frisk to pull the phone away from their ear. "IT IS I, YOUR BEST FRIEND, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"How did you get this number? I don't remember giving it to you."

Papyrus chuckled happily.

"THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE!" He explained. "I SIMPLY DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I CAME ACROSS YOURS!"

Frisk chuckled. For some reason, this did seem like something Papyrus would do.

"What can I do for you?"

"WELL, YOU SEE, I HAVE THIS FRIEND. THEY ARE QUITE CURIOUS ABOUT HUMANS, ESPECIALLY YOU! THIS FRIEND THOUGHT THEY SAW YOU EARLIER! TELL ME, ARE YOU STILL WEARING THAT BANDANA AND GLOVES?"

Frisk paused, reaching towards their pocket and feeling for their gloves and and bandana. All they felt was water, and cold. Frisk lifted her sweater over her pockets and to their disappointment saw that the pocket was empty.

"Not anymore… I guess they must have fallen out of my pocket."

"BUT, YOU STILL HAVE YOUR SWEATER, AND YOUR BANDAGED KNEE, RIGHT?"

Now Frisk was beginning to get suspicious. Still, it was Papyrus. He was harmless.

"Yeah, I do."

"EXCELLENT! THANK YOU HUMAN"

With that, Papyrus hung up. Frisk slowly removed the phone from their ear, looking quite oddly at it before shrugging. Cold and shaking, Frisk hugged themselves as they continued forward. The cave seemed to slowly become brighter, lights dancing across the walls through the means of large, bluish crystals that glowed like stars.

"Wow..." Frisk gasped. "They're so… beautiful."

"They're so… beautiful." A voice, almost completely identical to Frisk's, repeated.

Frisk turned around, now completely confused.

"Who said that?"

"Who said that?"

This time, the voice seemed to be coming from right below them. Looking down, Frisk saw a strange, glowing blue flower sticking out of the ground.

"Is this what spoke?" Frisk wondered alouded.

"Is this what spoke?" The flower asked.

"Whoa!" Frisk exclaimed, stumbling back a bit.

"Whoa!" The flower repeated.

Approaching cautiously, Frisk poked the flower.

"Whoa!" the flower said again.

"Oh! I get it! This is that echo flower Sans mentioned."

As if to prove Frisk right, the flower spoke again.

"Oh! I get it! This is that echo flower Sans mentioned."

"Goodbye!" Frisk said playfully as they walked away, the echo flower merely repeating them.

As Frisk continued on, the sound of rushing water once again entered their ears. In Frisk's mind, all they could think about was those lilypads. Their heart filled with excited as they ran down the caves, turning around a sharp corner and seeing a long wooden bridge that stretched into the darkness. The only real light came from the glistening gems carved into columns on a path above the bridge.

"After years of living in the dark, you'd think they'd have better lighting on these bridges." Frisk sighed as they proceeded forward.

Then, the quiet splashing of the water seemed to fade away. In its place, Frisk heard a series of loud, deep thuds of a familiar force echoing through the caves. Frisk stopped and looked up to the columns, where the large suit of armor that was Undyne crept from the shadows. Their eyes met, with Undyne's glowing a dark and monstrous green. Frisk shook as Undyne rose their hand into the air.

"Ummm, You- you must be Undyne" Frisk stammered, "I- I'm not here to hurt-"

Suddenly, a blue energy warped in Undyne's fingers before extending into a large spear. Frisk's eyes widened as Undyne reeled their arm back and the spear flew into the bridge. It landed with a loud crack, causing splinters and wood to explode on impact as Frisk jumped forward. Undyne's eye glowed once more as another spear formed. Frisk stood up and looked at Undyne before sprinting across the bridge. The spear struck the bridge, and the section between the blows creaked and twisted before sinking. Frisk gulped hard as they ran. Undyne's eyes followed Frisk before going into an all out sprint after them.

Again, a spear of blue energy formed in their hand and a strong throw sent into the bridge. Frisk tripped and fell face first into the hard wood of the bridge, Undyne's hand clenched as the spear formed. Frisk looked up at Undyne, scrambling back to their feet just as the spear came flying. It grazed Frisk's leg, burning them and cutting them at the same time. Frisk cried out in pain, but forced themselves to keep moving.

Once they got off the bridge, Frisk immediately ran for cover in a large patch of tall grass. Tired and out of breath, Frisk laid down in the tall grass and closed their eyes as the burning sensation on their leg subsiding. Suddenly, the sound of the thundering feet continued. It continued to get closer, and closer. Each step shaking the ground until there was the heavy crunch of grass.

Frisk closed their eyes, and covered their head in the tall grass until a heavy force was felt on their back. Frisk whimpered, when suddenly the heaviness slowly went away and a loud squeaky scream was heard. Frisk blinked slightly as the weight returned and the footsteps seemed to turn around and diminish. It was then Frisk looked over their shoulder and saw Nerville, in awe with a rather large handprint on his face.

"The monster kid?" Frisk whispered.

Monster Kid looked over at Frisk, his eyes wide.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" He exclaimed. "Undyne just… just... Touched me! I'm never washing my face again!"

He ran around in an excited circle as Frisk slowly stood up, peeking through the grass to make sure that Undyne was truly gone.

"Man, you are so~ unlucky!" Nerville commented. "If you had been only a little more to the left."

Frisk shivered at the thought.

"C'mon!" Monster Kid suddenly shouted. "Let's go try and catch up with them!"

Frisk turned back, but Nerville was already gone with the sound of grass crunching under his feet and a sudden splash as if he had fallen down. Sighing again, Frisk exited the grass, continuing forward.

…..

The last thing Frisk expected as they ventured deeper and deeper into these caves was the sudden flood of bright, blue light. Shielding their eyes, they got closer and closer. As their eyes adjusted, they soon found the source of the light. All around them were large pools of glowing greenish-blue water all around. Every now and then, the light would be marred by cattail plants and paths that criss-crossed throughout the marshy area.

"Wow." Frisk gasped. "And I thought this place couldn't get any weirder."

The path seemed straight ahead, and Frisk began to march proudly ahead. The glowing plants and fungus acting as a guide, when they came across a four way road. Frisk looked left, then right, then ahead. A bit confused, Frisk began walking left. Then they turned right, then left again and after a while, the happy-go-lucky Frisk came to the same four-way crossing. It was clear because there was their footprints in the soft mud. They looked around again, before sighing.

"How did I get back here?" They asked themselves, shivering as they held their dirty, damp, cold clothes which were covered in mud and bits of dead grass. "What I wouldn't give for a bath right about now."

About that time, loud footsteps began to approach. Fearing Undyne's return, Frisk went to hide, but couldn't find anywhere to go. However, the source of the footsteps soon proved to be a strange turtle-like creature. It was huge, with green skin and a strange blue shell. However, the shell seemed to cave inward, forming a sort of pool on its back.

"Bath?" A deep, slow voice asked.

Frisk looked up at the creature, staring at it in fascination.

"Ummm, ye- yes?" Frisk said after a moment.

The turtle looked down at Frisk, frowning at the amount of dirt and grime caked onto them

"So dirty." He chastised. "Woshua can clean?."

There was the sound of running water as the pool on Woshua's back began to will with warm, sudsy water. There was even a rubber duck floating about. Then, Woshua's head bent down, scooping up Frisk With a gentle toss, Frisk landed in the tub with a nice splash.

"Give clothes to Woshua," Woshua said as he began walking slowly through the labyrinth. "I get them cleaned too."

Happy for the soapy water covering them. Frisk slipped out of their clothes. Woshua took them, placing them in a small compartment on his shell that resembled a washing machine. Then, a bar of soap was dispensed, along with a small washcloth. Frisk quickly took both, scrubbing themselves down eagerly. The rubber duck, which turned out to be a sentient rubber toy, even scrubbed Frisk's back.

Clean once more, the water began to drain from Woshua's tub. Frisk was provided a towel, and then their clothes. They were cleaner than the day they'd been purchased, and Woshua had even fixed the small holes caused by Frisk's journey.

"Thank you Woshua." Frisk said as they finished getting dress.

"You're welcome." Woshua replied, gently tipping Frisk out of the tub.

Frisk looked about, and was surprised to see that they were out of the labyrinth.

"You were lost." He said stoically. "So I take you to exit. Go straight and you reach Hotland."

Frisk beamed happily, then hugged Woshua. He was surprised, but accepted it. His short turtle-like legs lifting him up as if to stand and hug Frisk back.

"Thank you!" Frisk said again,

Releasing Woshua, Frisk waved goodbye was Woshua walked clumsily back into the labyrinth. Frisk smiled, and placed their hands in their pockets. Suddenly, their pocket began to vibrate, Frisk looked down and pulled out their cellphone and opened it. Once again, Papyrus' name appeared on it.

"Hello Papyrus."

"HELLO HUMAN!" Papyrus greeted. "DO YOU REMEMBER THAT FRIEND I TOLD YOU ABOUT?"

"Yes..." Frisk replied a bit skeptically. "Why?"

"YOU SEE, THAT FRIEND OF MINE, THEIR OPINION OF YOU IS A BIT… MURDERY… "

Frisk gulped, sweat pouring from their brow.

"That friend was Undyne, wasn't it?"

"THAT IS CORRECT! I KNEW YOU WOULD FIGURE IT OUT, ESPECIALLY AFTER MY SUSPICIOUS SOUNDING QUESTION! THAT IS WHY I KNEW THAT IF I TOLD UNDYNE THAT YOU WERE WEARING YOUR SWEATER AND HAD A BANDAGED KNEE, YOU WOULD CHANGE YOUR APPEARANCE! NYEHEHEHEHEHE!"

With that, Papyrus hung up. Frisk just stood there for a minute, holding the phone to their ear as they tried to process what Papyrus had said. It seemed that he had honestly tried to help, tried to warn Frisk of Undyne's coming in his own way. Slowly closing their phone, Frisk slipped it back into their pocket as they continued forwards, feeling more than a little foolish for not realizing it sooner.

The cave seemed to widen, and the open air was filled with the smell of saltwater, almost like the ocean. The smell seemed to becoming from everywhere as Frisk proceeded. It was here that the distant sight of a bridge could be seen. Frisk stopped, looking nervously around to make sure that Undyne didn't surprise them again.

"H-hello?" they called out nervously. "Is anyone there?"

Suddenly the water shifted, and a pair of large, yellow tentacles burst from the water and gripped onto the rocky sides of this strange saltwater pool. Two eyes broke the surface of the water and looked around before stopping directly at Frisk. It seemed to stand up quickly, it's head hitting the middle of the bridge, causing it to crack and snap with little to no effort. The giant yellow octopus stood out of the water, it's huge eyes sparkling and a wide smile shining on its face as if painted that way.

"Hi!" The thing exclaimed. "I'm Onionsan! ONIONSAN!"

Frisk stumbled back, covering their head as pieces of wood and large splinters rained down from the creature's watery entrance. Onionsan's face turned red as Frisk brushed away the splinters, and noticed the bridge now sinking into the water.

"Hi Onionsan." Frisk waved. "Are you okay? You hit the bridge kind of hard."

Onionsan's face looked a bit confused, then they looked at the splinters that were still floating about in the water. Gasping, Onionsan's face became one of shock.

"Oh no..." Onionsan murmured. "I broke the bridge, and I bet you were about to cross it."

Frisk gives a small nod. Onionsan seemed to wince, looking down as their expression seemed to become more and more guilt-ridden and this face becoming a bright red.

"I'm really, really, REALLY sorry." Onionsan apologized, slowly sinking into the water to hide itself.

Frisk dusted themselves off and walked over to the edge of the water as the top Onionsan's wide head sat just above the water and was surrounded by bubbles. Frisk looked sad at Onionsan's struggle.

"There, there." Frisk said, as they attempted to reach for Onionsan, "I'm not mad I'm just-"

Frisk's hand slipped, but caught themselves before falling in the water. Standing up, Frisk rubbed their chin in wonder. Frisk then took a few steps back.

"Here I come!" Frisk ran, then leapt and landed onto Onionsan's head.

There was a squish and Onionsan's head lifted quickly out of the water and looked at the small child on his head. Frisk hugged tightly onto Onionsan's brow, hands clenching tightly onto the rubbery skin.

"Child!" Onionsan screamed in excitement, "You're a genius! I can take you across!"

Before Frisk had a chance to react, Onionsan began to slowly walk across the large pool, careful to keep Frisk above the water. Frisk held onto Onionsan's head tightly, slightly afraid they would slip right off the large octopus' head. Luckily, that didn't happen.

"So, you're coming from Waterfall, right?" Onionsan asked, Frisk blinked, then gave a small nod.

"Yeah." They replied. "It's really pretty there."

"Uh-huh." Onionsan agreed. "Waterfall is my big favorite!"

Onionsan them seemed to slow down a bit as their big grin shrunk.

"Although, the water here has been getting very shallow as of late..." Onionsan muttered as their face continued to fall. "I have to sit down all the time..."

Frisk gently patted Onionsan's tentacle.

"I'm sorry." Frisk told them.

Onionsan just nodded.

"The water may be shallow, but at least I'm not in some big, cramped aquarium in the city..." Onionsan slightly froze, as if mid sentence, "...like all my friends."

Now Onionsan was starting to seem really depressed.

"And- even if I wanted to- Be with my friends- I can't- because- there's no more room."

Frisk felt their heart breaking for the octopus. They leaned forward as best as they could, gently kissing Onionsan's bulbous head. Onionsan suddenly perked up.

"But that's okay!" They declared. "Undyne's gonna fix everything. Undyne's gonna gather the last human soul we need and bust us all out of here! Then I'll be living in the ocean! And I won't be alone anymore!"

In that moment, Frisk felt a knot growing in their stomach. They felt so bad for Onionsan, and wanted nothing more than to hug them and tell them everything was going to work out.

"Well, we're at the end of the room."

Frisk turned, surprised to see the end of the room, just like Onionsan said. The octopus gently tilted their head, sending Frisk sliding down on the ground. They even went so far as to adjust their sweater back into place.

"It was nice talking to you." Onionsan said as they slowly sank back into the water. "Come see me the next time you're in Waterfall!"

Onionsan disappeared, tentacles still waving. Frisk watched them go, then slowly turned and walked out of the pool room.

…..

After leaving the pool room behind, Frisk found themselves in a large, open cave practically covered in the crystalline stars. Frisk couldn't help but stare at them, the ethereal beauty of their twinkling lights helping to lift their mood. After continuing forward a bit, Frisk heard what almost sounded like someone singing.

"Is that...music?"

Following the sound, Frisk found what looked like a small fish monster floating in a nearby corner. Curiosity getting the better of them, they approached.

"Hi there."

The fish squeaked, turning around fast and practically screaming when they saw Frisk. Frisk immediately put their hands up, trying to calm the terrified fishperson.

"No, no. Please stop screaming." Frisk said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The fish still seemed a bit weary, but ceased screaming.

"My name is Frisk." They greeted. "What's your name?"

The fishperson slowly turned away, murmuring something under her breath. Frisk tilted their head as Shyren turned to face them. Her expression became frightful, and turned away again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that." Frisk said softly as possible, the fishperson turned to face Frisk.

"Shyren..." She spoke in a near whimper, yet her voice seemed very musical.

"Hi Shyren." Frisk replied. "I liked your voice. It's really pretty."

Shyren's expression dropped to one of surprise, her face beginning to glow as her cheek grew flushed with a red blush. She covered her face with her finlike hands, and shook her head as if to remove any thoughts or ideas.

"Thank you" She whimpered softly.

"Can you sing it again?"

Shyren then looked away from Frisk. Frisk blinked a bit in a confusion as Shyren remained silent. Frisk slid down onto the ground, trying to remember the song. After a minute, Frisk began humming. Shyren seemed to perk at the sound as Frisk continued to hum the song, although it was a bit off key. Shyren clapped her fins together happily as she met Frisk's eye. Shyren then stood up and began to sing. Her voice, a soft whimper at first, became a loud range of sound that seemed to echo through the cave. It was melodic, lovely, and Frisk watched in awe as Shyren's singing became more and more confident. After a moment, Frisk couldn't help but sing along.

This continued for awhile, the two of them humming and singing. After a while, their little show drew in a few monsters from around the Waterfall. They were all watching happily and smiling.

When the two of them finished their song, the crowd erupted into applause. Both Shyren and Frisk gave a bow as the crowd dispersed.

"Thank you." Shyren told Frisk.

"Thank you for the song." Frisk replied. "You know, maybe you should become a professional singer. I'm sure you'd do great."

"Maybe..." Shyren looked down, but a clear smile was on her face. "I never thought I was that good."

"I'd definitely try it."

Shyren smiled at the thought, then slowly floated away. As Frisked watched them go, a familiar voice suddenly spoke up from right next to them.

"Sweet concert, kid." A deep voice sounded through the cave

Frisk jumped, then turned to see Sans standing there, stuffing a large bag into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Hey Sans." Frisk greeted. "How'd you get here?"

"Oh, I was selling tickets to your concert." Sans replied with a shrug. "Maybe I can finally pay off my tab at Grillbys."

Frisk chuckled as Sans smiled down at them.

"You know, If you like music so much then do I have a tip for you!"

Frisk perked up as Sans pointed towards a tunnel up ahead.

"Down that tunnel is a statue. If you cover the statue with an umbrella, you might be surprised."

Frisk placed their finger on their chin, and closed their eyes to think as to what the surprise could be. But they came up with nothing, and sighed before opening their eyes.

"Put an umbrella on a statue?" Frisk asked. "But that's-"

But once again, Sans was gone in the blink of an eye. Frisk sighed, then looked back down way Sans had pointed. Frisk continued towards the tunnel, it was a long passage with very little light and only a few crystals on the wall to show the way. Frisk continued forward until they felt a hard thud on their head, Frisk froze in fear when another thud hit their head. Frisk looked up and a large droplet of water fell on their face. Frisk wiped it away, and licked their hand. It was cool and refreshing, and filled Frisk with the determination to continue forth.

The water droplets started to become more and more frequent, coming down like surface rain, Frisk reached for their warm, and clean sweater and drew it over their head to protect them. An audible grunt came from their mouth.

"Where is this rain coming from?"

Frisk stomped through the thick mud on the cave floor and turned around a corner and saw a small umbrella holder filled with umbrellas, a small sign reads "FOR WHEN IT RAINS!". Frisk grabbed an umbrella and opened it and put it over their head. The tapping of rain against the umbrella filled Frisk with happiness and they continued forward. Eventually, a large hooded statue appeared. Curious as to the surprise Sans had mentioned, Frisk placed their umbrella onto the statue.

As the rain ceased falling on the statue, Frisk heard what sounded like a music box playing inside of it. Frisk didn't recognize the tune, but for some reason, it made them feel nostalgic. This song, despite never hearing it before, made Frisk feel both unimaginable happiness, as well as a strange, crushing sadness.

"It's… beautiful."

Frisk felt something run down the side of their face. Though they knew it was most likely a tear, they decided that it was rain instead.

"I better go get another umbrella."

After grabbing another umbrella, Frisk continued on their journey. After walking a bit past the statue, Frisk spotted a familiar yellow monster hiding out in a dry alcove.

"It's that monster kid." Frisk realized before waving them over. "Hey!"

Nerville perked up, grinning when he saw Frisk.

"Yo! You got an umbrella!"

"Yeah." Frisk replied, walking over to the alcove. "Wanna share it?"

"You mean it?"

"Yeah, come on."

Nerville grinned, then ran under Frisk's umbrella. The two walked on for a bit before Nervile spoke up.

"Man, Undyne is so~ cool." He commented.

Frisk gulped a bit, but gave a small nod.

"How so?"

"Undyne beats up bad guys and NEVER loses!" he said with a loud laugh. "If I was a human, I would wet the bed every night!"

Frisk raised an eyebrow.

"You wet the bed?"

Nerville turned red.

"No!" he defended. "But- if I was human- I would- Knowing that Undyne was gonna beat me up."

Frisk gave a nervous chuckle, then decided a subject change was needed.

"You know a lot about Undyne." Frisk mentioned. "But what about the King? Can you tell me anything about him?"

"Oh yeah." Monster kid said with a nod. "The King actually came to my school once."

Frisk's eyes widened.

"He did?"

"Uh-huh!" Monster Kid said with an enthusiastic nod. "We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The King - we had to call him 'Mr Dreemurr'- volunteered to donate his own flowers. He brought all these potted flowers, and taught the class about responsibility and stuff."

"Wow." Frisk muttered.

Thinking back to how Papyrus had described the King, Monster Kid's story only seemed to make the description seem more believable.

"That sounds pretty cool." Frisk commented.

"You bet!" Monster Kid agreed. "The only thing that would have made it better would be if Undyne came too! They could beat up ALL the Teachers!"

Frisk winced at the idea, and even Monster Kid seemed to think twice about the idea.

"Ummm, maybe she wouldn't beat up the teachers." Monster Kid decided. "She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!"

Frisk gave a small nod as the continued. The rain continued to fall, but the cavern opened up, allowing for a magnificent view off in the distance. Frisk stopped, staring at the structure off in the distance.

"Is that-?"

"Yo, that's New Home!" Monster Kid answered. "The capital. That's where the King lives, as well as most of the other monsters!"

"So that's it." Frisk whispered. "It's so far away..."

"Nah!" Monster Kid disagreed. "The capital's just a short walk through Hotland!"

"Hotland?"

"Yep. It's pretty sweet, but my mom doesn't like me going there. Too much magma."

"Ah." Frisk replied. "Well, we better keep moving."

"Right! We're not gonna catch up to Undyne if we just stand around. Let's go!"

Frisk and Nerville continued to walk down the soggy path, their footprints side by side in the dark caves and their laughter the only thing that was louder than the rain. Nerville smiled to Frisk and looked down.

"You're a really cool friend." He said as Frisk smiled to him.

"Same to you, Monster Kid."

Nerville chuckled at Frisk's nickname, then the cave floor arched up and a cliff formed. A ledge was visible but it was clearly out of reach for both of them. Frisk looked up a bit worried as Monster Kid stared at the ledge in thought.

"Uh-oh." Frisk muttered, placing their umbrella in a nearby bucket.

"Yo, this ledge is WAY too high to climb."

"So what do we do?" Frisk asked

Both of them thought for a minute, then Monster Kid had an idea.

"Yo, climb on my shoulders!" He declared. "You can use me as a boost to get to the top."

"You sure?"

"Yeah! Now hop on!"

Frisk nodded, then gently climbed onto Monster Kid's shoulders. With the added height, Frisk managed to grab onto the ledge. With a bit of effort, Frisk pulled themselves onto the ledge, then turned and peered over to look at Monster Kid.

"What about you?" Frisk asked. "How are you gonna get up here?"

"I'll find another way." Monster Kid replied. "I always do."

He then turned and scurried off. He tripped for a moment, then managed to get back on his feet before disappearing again. Frisk watched him go, then got to their feet and continued forward into the dark cave systems. The continued downward at a tense slope towards a large tunnel, then it opened to a culmination of bridges and platforms that stretched forth into the darkness. The limited light only showed the bridges, and the only sound that could be heard was the distant sound of water from the vast and seemingly bottomless darkness below. Frisk looked down, then shivered a bit at the sight of the endless blackness.

"What in the world?" Frisk muttered.

Returning their view to the bridge paths, Frisk came to the conclusion that the only way to proceed was to move forward. The bridge creaked and groaned under their steps, a few boards snapping and plunging into the black pools below Frisk.

"I wanna go home." Frisk murmured when the room began to glow a bit.

Frisk looked up slowly, when a large spear of blue, pulsing energy landed in front of them. Frisk stumbled back as the room's light increased again as another spear hit the bridge. Frisk whimpered as spears rained down and soon trapped Frisk. Then, the air became thick with the thunderous sound of footsteps echoing through the cave. They lost their breath as they looked back and saw the familiar soldier slowly approaching.

"Undyne..." Frisk whispered, too afraid to even scream.

"You won't escape this time, human!" Undyne threatened.

Undyne slowly raising their hand and formed a new blue spear. They then thrusted their arm forward, sending the spear sailing into through the air before crashing hard onto the wooden paths. The bridges shuddered, threatening to send Frisk plummeting off the bridges. Frisk grasped the wooden pylon and clutched tightly to it. With its support, they managed to maintain balance, if just barely. They stumbled forward onto the bridge, which shuttered as Undyne approached. Frisk looked in terror as Undyne's eye glowed bright green with hatred, their arm raising and forming yet another new spear.

Frisk turned and ran. Undyne's bellowing voice only chuckled as they threw the new spear. The bridge shook again as Frisk ran. Their feet tapping against the wood, the board gave way in an instant and their foot caught the edge and rolled. Suddenly, a spear soared over them and crashed into the bridge. The other end shook, twisted, then crumbled. Frisk turned and Undyne approached, still chuckling.

"Goodbye, human."

Frisk stood up, their knees bleeding through the bandage, and their sweater covered in splinters.

"Please stop!" Frisk cried "I didn't hurt anyone."

"Don't you think your lies can help you here, human."

"But I'm not-"

Undyne's hand rose up, Frisk froze.

The blue energy formed the largest spear they had seen, and though the helmet covered their face, Frisk could feel Undyne smiling. They threw it directly in front of Frisk, the spear erupted into three arcs of blue energy. The two sides wrapped around the bridge as the middle one struck Frisk hard in the chest. Frisk's voice was gone as they were sent flying back and over the edge. The bridge, where they had once stood, broke apart above them began collapsing. Soon, a rain of wood, nails and debris joined them in their descent. Frisk crossed their arms over their head, screaming the entire way.

As Frisk's screams slowly grew quieter, Undyne turned away from the destroyed bridge, walking away with a satisfied stride.


	5. Dreams

Everything was fuzzy, a strange darkness surrounding Frisk. Everything hurt to the point where Frisk didn't think they could move on their own.

"Help!" They called, but their voice was weak. "Somebody! Anybody!"

As they laid sprawled face-first in the dirt, they heard what sounded like a young boy calling out as well.

"It sounds like it came from over here."

Frisk slowly lifted their head to see a fuzzy white shape coming closer. Whatever it was, it gasped at the sight of Frisk on the ground.

"Oh!" The shape exclaimed. "You've fallen down haven't you? Are you okay?"

Frisk shook their head.

"Please- Help me."

The shape bent down and Frisk felt soft, furry hands slowly try to pull them up.

"Here, get up."

Frisk was leaning heavily on the shape, but felt grateful for their help.

"Thank you." Frisk told him. "My name is-"

For some reason, Frisk didn't say their real name. Instead, they gave a completely different name.

"-Chara."

The fuzzy creature seemed to smile.

"Chara huh? That's a nice name. My name is-"

…..

The sweet aroma of buttercups filled the air as Frisk's eyes began to open. They stretched their arms out before pushing themselves up. Rubbing their head, they began to look around. Around them, large piles of garbage stacked like columns to the dark abyss above. There were no more crystals to be seen. Instead, there was only the white specks of what Frisk assumed were distant torches or lamps to light the way. The air smelled of decaying food and rusty electronics. There was no sound to be heard, save for the bobbing of the surrounding water and the trickle of the nearby waterfall.

"How far did I fall?" Frisk wondered. "And why are buttercups growing in this… garbage dump?"

The thought of the garbage made Frisk think about their newly washed clothes, they looked down, checking for any stains or tears caused by the fall. Their clothes were still intact, but Woshua was probably not going to be happy they ruined them so quickly.

"Well," Frisk sighed, trying to stay positive. "I may be dirty again, but at least I'm alive."

Getting to their feet, Frisk cupped their hands around their mouth like a megaphone and began shouting into the darkness.

"Hello!" They called, "Is anyone there? Hello-"

Suddenly a voice echoed through the sound of dripping water.

"Nya!?" a strange, nasally voice exclaimed.

Frisk went silent, looking around for the source of the noise.

"Wha'! Wha' wassat?" the same voice questioned.

"I- I don't know boss" Another voice spoke up, a deeper almost dumber sounding voice. "It came from the flowerpots"

"Nya!" The voice from before replied. "They ain't flowerpots, stupid! Theys just flowers."

"Sorry boss" The second voice said.

"Umm...Hello?" Frisk asked again.

When nobody responded, Frisk climbed out of the flower bed, landing with a splash into the knee deep water. When the water settled, the voices returned.

"Hey Boss?" A third voice perked up, its voice scratchy and shyer sounding. "I think someone is getting closer?"

"Nya! Really!?" The first voice spoke up, "Come on boys! Less sho' em what happens when they enter our turf!"

"Yeah!" Said the deeper voice, and the scratchy voice at the same time.

Frisk stopped moving, hugging themselves as the sound of heavy splashing approached them. They began to step back slowly when suddenly a head made out of cloth swung around quickly. Its right eye sewn poorly shut and a large looking spool of yarn acting as a cigar of some sort. Frisk jumped back with a yelp and fell into the water with a loud splash.

"Nya! Wasshis?" The creature said, making his open eye as big as possible. "Wha' in de underground is ya? Lost!?"

"Umm, no. I was just looking around for a way out." Frisk "I didn't mean to disturb a bunch of-"

"Dummies!" The mannequin spoke up, "Git' over 'ear."

Suddenly two more mannequins splashed over. One was rather large with drooping eyes hanging onto loose yarn and body bloated wet with water. The other one was incredibly skinny with a pair of uneven eyes and a small mouth. Its head was clearly missing and its face was sewn onto a thin torso of a mannequin.

"Think we found that human thas makin' such a fuss." The first said.

"Really!?" The two other mannequins said, looking at each other.

Frisk gulped, then stood up.

"I'm not trying to cause trouble." They explained. "I just want to get out of this dump. If you let me go, I promise I'll leave you and any other dummies in here alone."

At the word 'dummies', all of the mannequin turned to Frisk in shock and anger. The fat one gasped and the skinny one seemed to look at the first one, who was apparently the leader of the group. The leader glared at frisk, his fabric turning red with rage.

"Nya!? Whatcha call me!?" The dummy said, his eye narrowing down on Frisk.

Frisk gulped.

"I didn't call you anything."

"You thinks because you gots that fancy skin and eyes, ya can call me dummy!" He snarled as he chest-bumped Frisk, "Well, do ya dummy!?"

Frisk looked a bit shocked at the turn of events. Looking over the mannequin at the other two, they shook their heads as if telling her to say no.

"Umm- Na- n-" Suddenly the mannequin leader got in Frisk's face.

"You listen here, dummy!" He continued, "I don't come ta your surface, come intah your home and call ya dummy! Do I boys!?"

"No boss" the larger one groaned, the thinner one merely mumbled.

"I'm sorry!" Frisk practically screamed. "I didn't mean to insult any of you."

"Come on boys!" The leader said, "Let's teach 'em a lesson!"

Suddenly, in a series of loud of splashes. The three mannequins had surrounded Frisk, their eyes glowing in anger at them.

"On ma' mark, boys!" The leader shouted, the two nodded. "One… Two...oooo"

The number seemed extended oddly, and the mannequins seemed thrown off. Looking in all directions, the leader mannequin turned his head and coughed roughly.

"Let's start from the top!" He repeated, the larger one raised an eyebrow as the thinner one nodded furiously. "One...TWO-oooo"

The three looked around again, this time more feverishly. Frisk's once panicked expression became more and more confused.

"Umm, are you waiting for something?" Frisk asked.

Now the leader was becoming more and more agitated, as well as more and more embarrassed.

"Less try something different!" the leader mannequin, the other two nodded again. "Uno! Dos- sssss…"

Once again, there was nothing. By now, Frisk was just standing in the water, eyeing the three mannequins curiously. The leader mannequin's eyes grew angrily and spun around.

"Alright!" He screamed, "Alright, Alright, Alright! Come out an' fight me! Come and git some! Whatevah ya is! I'll take ya!"

"HelloooOoooOooo…" A faint moan echoed, and a floating top hat came into view.

"Gak! Run!" The leader suddenly screamed, his anger becoming terror. "It's the Wata' fall ghost! Less git outta here!"

The thinner one merely squeaked before running away in a series of frightened splashes.

"Wa- wa- wait for me guys!" The largest one said, "You know I'm not so fast!"

The three ran through the garbage columns before vanishing into the distance. Frisk blinked before turning to the floating hat, and Napstablook began to form slowly.

"Oooo… I am sorry…" Napstablook said solemnly, "You looked like you were having fun…"

"Napstablook!" Frisk called happily.

With the mannequins now gone, Frisk ran at top speeds towards the ghost. They came in for a hug, and despite Napstablook being a spirit, Frisk still managed to get them in a hug.

"Napstablook, you have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"You're…Happy to see me...?"

Frisk nodded enthusiastically.

"I thought for sure those du-" Frisk froze, still slightly afraid more of the mannequins were going to appear. "-Mannequins were going to try and kill me."

"Oh…" Napstablook said quietly, "They're not that bad...they never bother me… No one ever does…"

Frisk felt a bit sad for Napstablook when their stomach released a low growl through their sweater. Frisk blushed, and giggled.

"Hungry already?" They commented. "I guess falling after being chased by a crazed suit of armor will make anyone hungry."

"Are you really hungry…?" Napstablook asked, raising his voice slightly, "Because...you know...my house...isn't really that far...I mean, from here…if you want."

"You have a house?" Frisk asked, "I'd really like to see it, I bet it's awesome."

Napstablook's already wide and empty eyes widened some more as the top hat fell over his face. Even with the ghostly hat attempting to cover it, Frisk could see a deep red blush coming to the ghost's non-existent cheeks.

"It's… it's okay, I guess." He muffled through the thick lining of his hat. "It's pretty plain…"

"Napstablook, right now, I could go for a little plain."

Napstablook's dapper hat returned to his head and he floated above the ground before disappearing. Frisk looked around for a bit, confused before Napstablook reappeared.

"I'm- I'm sorry...I forgot you can't...do that…" Napstablook said sadly, "Just...follow me please...It's not too far from here...I promise."

Napstablook began floating through the dump, careful to make sure Frisk could follow. Eventually, he reached a ramp that finally got Frisk out of the water. Following this path, the two reached a fork in the road. The road on the left had a sign with a drawing of a rather scary looking fish. The road on the right had a sign with a simple picture of a dome with circles serving as eyes. There was a sign on the ground, and from the loose nail on the post, it had probably hung above the simple sign at one point. This sign was pink, covered in glitter, and had the picture of a ghost with one eye covered by a swoop of hair.

"I wonder who this is." Frisk wondered.

"That was my cousin..." Napstablook explained. "They lived next door to me until they became this big star in the city… I haven't seen them in a while."

Frisk set the sign down and followed Napstablook down the right path. There, they saw two houses, both slightly rounded at the top and bent towards either side. The house on the left was grey, obviously Napstablook's house, and the one on the right was pink, probably the cousin's.

"Come on in..."

Napstablook floated through the door with ease. Frisk had a bit of trouble getting it open, but after a few minutes of hard tugging, they finally got it. The hinges squeaked loudly, and the door would only open about halfway, but it was just enough room for Frisk to squeeze through.

The inside of the house was colorless. The floors and walls matched the same dull wood trim and color with some cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and the walls, and very little furniture could be seen. A refrigerator, a stove, a small rug laying on the floor covered in various records from bands that Frisk had never heard of. "The Boodles", "The Rolling Gravestones", and even "The Burial Boys", the air was filled with a catchy tune that emanated from the computer in the corner.

"Oh dear…" Napstablook murmured, as he flew over to his computer. The sound of clacking keys filled the air and the music stopped. "I am sorry...that must have been unpleasant…"

Frisk looked confused at Napstablook turning off the music, and cocked their head softly.

"Actually, that sounded really cool. What was it?"

"It was...Ummm...just- just a little something I was working on…It's- it's not done...not yet...but it is will be soon."

"Can I hear what you have so far?" Frisk asked.

"First...Ummm…" Napstablook flew over to the refrigerator, "Weren't you…Ummm...hungry...I have a sandwich…"

Frisk's stomach growled at the word, and Frisk blushed again before walking towards Napstablook as he opened the fridge.

"Whatcha got?" Frisk asked. "I could just about eat a house right now."

"Well...it's- it's not a house...but...it is a sandwich" He turned and offered Frisk a large sandwich.

It was pure white, and seemed to jiggle with an ethereal presence. Napstablook looked expectantly at Frisk to take it. Frisk went to reach for it, but their hands passed through it like it was nothing. Both Frisk and Napstablook looked at the sandwich for a moment.

"Umm...that's- that's all I have. I am sorry...I wasn't expecting company." Napstablook said, his slight happiness fading. "I would have...you know...made more food if I knew…"

Frisk giggled a bit, their hand over their mouth to try and hide their humorous expression as Napstablook made the ghostly sandwich hover before taking a large bite from it. He finished the sandwich in a few bites, then turned to Frisk.

"You know," He began, his top hat slowly shifting into the shape of headphones, "After I have a filling meal, I… umm… I like to lay on the floor… like a piece of garbage."

Frisk nodded, a wide smile on their face as Napstablook floated over to the center of the room where a large rug was spread. Frisk walked over as Napstablook laid on the ground, his glassy eyes slowly closing. Frisk walked over, slowly laying down on the surprisingly comfortable rug. After getting situated, they stared up at the ceiling, marveling at the tiny lights that glistened with stars. As sleep began to make its claim on Frisk, the shadows along the ceiling transformed into the multi-colored swirls that Frisk always pictured as distant galaxies. Frisk giggled as their imagination ran wild and closed their eyes, grateful for a chance to rest, especially when not forced upon them by a painful blow. Within minutes, Frisk was fast asleep.

…..

The air smelled like a bakery, reminding Frisk of Toriel's house back in the ruins. The room was bright, unlike Frisk's previous dreams, which always seemed to start out in a suffocating darkness. They stood in the middle of a kitchen, egg shells and empty bags scattered across a white, powder-covered floor. The fridge was layered with white and sticky handprints and the countertop surface was littered with dirty bowls, spilt flour bags, dashes of cinnamon, egg shells and yolks, and even long strings of sticky butterscotch that ran off the countertops to the floor.

"Alright, Chara." a young voice announced, "what's next?"

Frisk looked over to see the same, fuzzy white monster from their earlier dream. This time, they were a lot clearer and could easily be distinguished as a goat-like monster. Frisk looked at the monster, then down at a stained cookbook. The pages were yellow and worn, the words written in flowing handwriting. Squinting at the page, Frisk searched the page before finding what they were looking for.

"We need ½ cup of butter." They announced.

The goat-kid walked over to the fridge, opening it. After some searching, they were unable to find any butter at all. They were incredibly disappointed, until an idea came to them. They snapped their fingers, smiling.

"Maybe we can use buttercups instead." they suggested.

Frisk smiled.

"Good idea. But we better only use half of one. After all, we don't want to go against the recipe."

The goat-kid ran off, gesturing for Frisk to follow.

"This way Chara!" they called. "I know where we can find a whole field of them!"

…..

Frisk sat up, gasping for air. They didn't know how long they had been asleep, but considering they had another one of their weird dreams, it was obvious they'd been out for a while. Looking around, Frisk saw Napstablook sitting at his computer, his whole upper body bobbing to some unheard music. He suddenly stopped and twisted his body to turn to Frisk, the headphones sliding off his head and setting themselves on a nonexistent neck.

"Oh, you're awake." Napstablook stated blandly, "That's cool. I am...Ummm… a bit busy with somethings. If you want to go, that'd be cool...if you want."

Frisk stretched, slowly getting to their feet.

"I probably should." Frisk remarked. "Thanks for letting me hang out with you. I had fun."

"You're…" Napstablook's face suddenly changed from the bleached white to a deep red. "You're welcome...friend…"

Frisk waved goodbye as they walked out of the house. Frisk dusted off their sweater, now well dried from the warm house and carpet. With a deep breath, Frisk continued deeper into the caves. The darkness became oppressive as it surrounded Frisk. The lights became more and more distant, and the shadows seemed to engulf them whole. It was in these shady corners that a strange giggle could be heard. Frisk looked around a bit confused before something snagged their ankle.

Looking down, Frisk saw a strange, glowing grass that was entangling itself around Frisk's ankle. Frisk gripped the grass tightly, struggling to free their foot. It took a few hard twists, but their foot managed to slip the grass off. Frisk stood up and, from the corner of their eye, noticed a large mushroom further down the path. It glowed a light blue, but seemed to be fading from the oppressive darkness. Frisk began walking over to the large fungi, curious as to what it could be.

With their natural curiosity taking hold, Frisk poked the large mushroom. The light it was emitting immediately turned off, plunging the room into darkness. Surprised, Frisk poked it again, returning the light to the room.

"Wow." Frisk whispered, "That is seriously cool"

Frisk prodded the mushroom gently with a stick.

"hOi." A voice came from it.

Frisk jumped back, looked at the mushroom in surprise.

"First a talking flower, then an echo flower, and now a talking mushroom." They muttered. "Can all the plants down here talk?"

"hOi!" The voice came again, this time from behind Frisk.

Frisk jumped at the sound, before turning slowly to see a small cat-like creature with long dog-like ears and flowing black hair stood on all fours behind Frisk. Its eyes off-centered, and its face making a bizarre smile.

"hOi 'dERE!" The creature said loudly, "Om Tem!"

Now Frisk was getting a bit nervous. They looked down at the strange creature, which was vibrating at a frantic pace.

"Umm, hi?" Frisk replied, stepping backwards slowly.

"WAnnA bOi sum' Arm'a?! hOi!" A voice suddenly blurted behind Frisk.

Frisk turned around to see about three more of these ever multiplying creatures standing behind them. While they varied in size, these things all had the same cat-like appearance. Frisk opened their mouth to try and shoo them away when suddenly, the air began to fill with the most bizarre music. Each of the creatures was singing, all of them at different frequencies and tones that only added to the creepiness of the monsters.

Frisk began to feel surrounded as the four existing cat creatures began multiplying at an alarming rate. Five, then eight, then nineteen.

"Just how many of you are there?" they questioned.

The creatures didn't answer, and pretty soon, they outnumbered Frisk 100 to one. Deciding that this was too weird, even after everything they'd seen, Frisk took off down the tunnel, the creepy cat-things coming after them. After a moment, they spotted a mine shaft on their left. Figuring it was a possible escape route, they dove for it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dead end.

"Oh no..." Frisk said with a wince.

What little light the cave had was slowly blotted out as a hundred cat-things suddenly blocked the exit. Frisk looked at them all, backing up until they were flat against the wall.

"hOi!" The creatures all said at once "E're Tem 'n we-!"

"GIT!" A voice called from behind them.

Frisk jumped as the voice called again.

"Git ya white furry butts outta my store! Don't make me git ma hammer!"

The bizarre cat creatures all froze, the song ending abruptly as they looked above Frisk with the same clueless face with their pure black eyes.

"oH kAy." A deep voiced cat-thing spoke before they all seemingly vanished in the darkness.

There was a brief pause before a hoarse laughter began to echo through the dark caves, followed by the rhythmic tapping of a wooden object against a hard stone floor. Frisk froze, then slowly turned to see an elderly turtle monster coming out from behind a thick wooden door to Frisk's left.

"Them Temmies can really git your blood goin' can't they little one." He commented, then he seemed to look at Frisk. "Now, what do we have here?

Frisk froze as the turtle examined them. Their eyes widened as he came to a realization.

"A human…" He said with a smile made out of barely any teeth, "Now there's somethin' you don't see every day. Tea?"

Frisk blinked, then slowly nodded.

"Uh, sure..." they said after a minute. "Tea sounds good."

"Come on in!" He smiled, walking a few steps out of the doorframe and holding the door open. "I don't bite."

He then snapped his jaw, seemingly enjoying Frisk's jump of surprise. He hoarsely laughed again as Frisk smiled, shaking a bit as they entered into the room.

"Thanks for getting rid of those- Whatever those were-" Frisk told him. "They were creepy."

"Ah, they ain't so mean." The turtle replied before leaning closer. "Whatcha really gotta look out fer is the ones that wanna go to college. They'll take every dime and nickel ya got and just put on a silly hat."

He walked in after Frisk, closing the rotted wooden door behind him. The room was quite bare, with the walls covered in barely glistening gems and jewels while the floor was solid stone. In the corner was a cot with a worn out mattress on an iron bed frame, covered with a faded rainbow blanket. On the blanket was a bizarre emblem, one that looked very familiar to Frisk.

The emblem was also carved into the wall of the cave, and as Frisk looked at it, realization dawned.

"That looks like the symbol on Toriel's dress." They thought to themselves.

Continuing their self-guided tour, Frisk saw a large hammer at the foot of the old bed. It was easily twice Frisk's size, which made Frisk wonder how this old turtle could ever wield such a bulky weapon. There was also a backpack buckled shut with a rope and a magnifying glass on top of it.

"Do you live here?" Frisk asked, their curiosity getting the best of them.

The turtle returned, two mugs of tea in his hands.

"That's right." he said as he sat down in front of Frisk. "Been camping in this little shaft for a long time. Maybe too long if I think about it."

Frisk sipped at their tea. It had an interesting flavor, but still tasted okay.

"Just how long have you been here?"

The turtle laughed loudly.

"Don't you know not to ask questions like that?" The asked with a smile. "If ya must know, I've been here since the war. Heck! I fought in the war!"

Frisk's eyes went wide. This turtle fought in the war between Monsters and Humans? How was that possible? Then again, remembering science class, Frisk knew that turtles could live for a very long time. Maybe it was the same with turtle monsters.

"You fought in the war?" Frisk asked.

"Eyup." The turtle replied. "I was known as Gerson, The Hammer of Justice. I still got the ole girl over there."

Frisk glanced over at the large hammer, suddenly a bit nervous. If Gerson fought in the war, then they probably had little love for humans. As if noticing Frisk's sudden nervousness, Gerson slapped a hand on their shoulder.

"Doncha worry. My fightin' days are behind me. I'm an archeologist now, studyin' the history of the Underground. It's a pretty easy hobby, especially after living through most of the history you're studying!"

Gerson laughed at his own little joke, and even Frisk snorted. As the laughter died a bit, Gerson turned to Frisk in a serious manner.

"Now enough about this old geezer. Tell me about yerself, little one."

Frisk took another sip of tea.

"There's nothing much to tell." They explained. "I'm just trying to get home."

"Ya mean back te the surface, doncha?"

Frisk nodded.

"Unfortunately, there's this crazy suit of armor trying to kill me. They've already chased me across the waterfall and I nearly fell to my death."

Gerson laughed again.

"Sounds like Undyne!" he proclaimed.

"That's right. That's their name."

Gerson nodded at that.

"Ya know, Undyne use to follow me around like a lost puppy. Worshipped me like a hero. Didja know Undyne battled their way to the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Considering the terrifying things I've seen Undyne do, it doesn't surprise me."

Gerson just smiled, then snapped their fingers as if remembering something.

"That reminds me. Undyne came through here not too long ago."

Frisk froze. They had hoped that their fall off the bridge would have gotten Undyne off of their back. It would seem that they weren't captain of the Royal Guard for just their fighting skills alone.

"They were looking for someone matching yer description. It's actually how I knew you was a Human."

Frisk set their now empty mug to the side, standing up.

"If Undyne's looking for me, then I should probably get moving. I do not want them to find me."

"Or maybe ya do?" Gerson smirked, with his barely any teeth.

Frisk shook their head.

"Undyne has made it quite clear what they're gonna do to me if they catch me." Frisk replied. "Thanks for the tea, and for getting rid of those Temmies."

Gerson shrugged, showing Frisk back into the tunnel from which they had come.

"Now, to git to the end of the Underground, head that way." he explained as he pointed. "Once you hit the echo flower field, turn right. You'll come to a bridge, and then the tunnel into Hotland. After that, yer on yer own."

Frisk nodded.

"Turn right at the echo flowers, cross the bridge, tunnel to Hotland." They repeated. "Thanks again."

Frisk walked off as Gerson waved them off. As Frisk disappeared, Gerson seemed to sag a bit.

"That poor kid..."

…..

The dark cave seemed to extend for miles, the walls littered and covered with the flickering blue gems of light. On either side, flowers whipped back and forth in the brief spans of wind that seemed to blow through the underground. Frisk trudged on, as the ground became thick mud again and the sound of running water began to echo. Suddenly, a giggle echoed through the caves. Frisk paused and looked around.

"So? Don't you have any wishes to make?" a voice almost identical to Frisk's asked.

As Frisk continued their search, they accidentally kicked an echo flower, which suddenly repeated that same question in that same voice.

"Right." Frisk whispered so the Echo Flowers wouldn't pick it up. "I forgot."

As they continued, they found a second flower, which seemed to be having a conversation with the first one.

"Hmmm, just one, but... It's kind of stupid."

Frisk froze, staring at the flower. The voice was the voice from their dream, the fuzzy child they kept interacting with. Frisk began contemplating if they were real, and what that meant about their dreams. Completely confused, but more intrigued than ever, Frisk continued forward. As expected, the next flower seemed to continue this strange passing conversation.

"Don't say that! Come on, I promise I won't laugh."

Frisk couldn't decide which was creepier; the fact that a voice from their dream had turned out to be real, or that they seemed to be having a conversation with someone who sounded almost exactly like them.

"Hmmm…" The next flower seemed to contemplate. "If I say my wish... You promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Of course I won't laugh!"

They seemed to be offended by the very idea of laughing at their friend's wish.

"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under." The next flower explained in a voice filled with wonder and excitement. "Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around... That's my wish."

Frisk stopped walking at that, looking down at the flower that had spoken. Throughout their journey, Frisk had forgotten the old legends about how the monsters had been sealed underground. It never even dawned on them that they might want out. Everyone had seemed so happy in Snowden, and even Papyrus and Sans had seemed content. But after hearing this, it made Frisk think.

Being an orphan, Frisk was used to hiding negative emotions, knowing that feeling bad wouldn't help anything. What if the monsters were doing the same? What if they were all pretending to be happy because they knew that being sad wouldn't free them.

Frisk thought on that as they reached the next flower. Strangely, this one didn't say anything. Instead, a childish laugh could be heard. However, it seemed to have a sad tinge to it, like someone laughing off pain.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at it!" The next flower shouted, the voice laced with embarrassment.

"Sorry," The final flower apologized, the voice laced with a strange sadness, reminding Frisk of the kids back at the Orphanage who suffered from depression. "It's just funny… That's my wish, too."

Frisk left the echo flower field, feeling a bit torn about how they felt now. As much as they wanted to go home, the monsters trapped down here probably wanted their freedom just as much. Frisk wished there was a way they could help them, but they doubted there was anything they could do.

Frisk was so distracted that they didn't even realize they'd reached a dead end, at least until they ran face-first into a wall. They rebounded with a loud thud, landing on the hard stone.

"Ow..." Frisk muttered, rubbing their head.

As they stood up, they noticed a lone Echo flower poking out of the ground. Wondering if there was some extra part to the conversation they'd heard, Frisk gave it a poke.

"Behind you."

The voice was unmistakably deep. Frisk felt their entire body go cold as they slowly turned around. Standing a few feet away, brandishing one of their glowing blue spears, was Undyne. Frisk screamed, backing up against the wall as best they could.

"Human." Their darkened, hoarse voice echoed. "We have come to an impasse."

"Impasse?" Frisk repeated nervously.

"You stand in the way of everything I fight for." Their voice continued, "I will end you, human and we will all be free."

They began to close in, spear poised to attack. Frisk closed their eyes, already feeling their soul coming to view as that red aura appeared. However, before Undyne could attack, Monster Kid came barreling out of a nearby patch of tall grass.

"Undyne! I'll help you fight!"

Both Frisk and Undyne stared at Monster Kid, Frisk out of bewilderment and relief, and Undyne out of anger and surprise. The red aura around Frisk disappeared as Monster Kid looked between the two of them. Finally, he turned to Frisk with a huge grin.

"Yo!" he greeted. "You did it! Undyne is right in front of you! You've got front row seats to watch them fight!"

That's when something struck him. His grin fell as he glanced around some more.

"Wait." he murmured. "Undyne, who are you fighting?"

Undyne dispelled their spear, grabbing Monster kid by the face and dragging them away from Frisk. Monster Kid got very nervous as he stumbled to keep up with them.

"H-hey! You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?" He asked as Undyne grumbled angrily away into the distance.

Frisk blinked in confusion as they watched them go, then sagged to the ground in relief.

"Monster Kid, I owe you big time."

Slowly getting to their feet, Frisk found themselves still quaking from the encounter. However, they knew that Undyne would return. Moving quickly, Frisk found a path leading to the bridge that Gerson had mentioned and bolted for it. They made it about halfway across the bridge when they heard a familiar call.

"Yo!"

Frisk paused, turning to see Monster Kid. He seemed a bit nervous as he approached Frisk.

"You okay?" Frisk asked. "Undyne didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No." he replied. "But, they told me something."

Frisk gulped as Monster kid met their eye.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Are you really a human?"

Seeing no real point in hiding it, Frisk nodded. Monster Kid seemed to smile a bit wider now.

"I knew it!" he cheered, then his smile slipped a bit. "Well, I know it now."

"Because Undyne told you?" Frisk asked.

"Well, Undyne really just said 'stay away from that human'." He clarified. "So, I guess that makes us enemies."

Frisk gave a reluctant nod.

"But do we have to be?" Frisk asked. "I don't want to be your enemy."

"Me neither!" Monster Kid agreed. "But, Undyne said so, so we have to be."

They just stood there for a minute, then Monster Kid spoke up again.

"Could you- I don't know- say something mean so I can hate you?" he asked. "Please?"

Frisk blinked, once again surprised, as Monster Kid lowered his head and stared at his feet. His face was bright red, as if embarrassed by the statement.

"Can- can you make it real hurtful? I want to get really mad at you."

"No." Frisk said stoically, "I can't."

Monster Kid's head shot up at that.

"Yo, what?" Monster kid stuttered, before thinking a bit. "So- So I have to do it? Okay, Ummm, here- here goes nothing."

Monster kid took a deep breath, closing their eyes to concentrate before looking right at Frisk.

"Ya-Yo, I...Ummm- I hate your...guts?" He said, as if he was questioning himself before looking down again. "Man, I'm such a turd… I- I'm gonna go head home now."

Monster kid turned slowly, and began to walk down the bridge. Frisk turned around as well, preparing to continue on their way. However, a startled yelp and the sound of cracking timbers. Frisk turned around just in time to see Monster Kid dangling from the side of the bridge, his sweater caught on one of the broken boards.

"Help!" he screamed.

"Monster Kid!" Frisk shouted as they ran forward.

Before they could get close, Undyne appeared out of nowhere. They looked at Frisk, approaching them with a predatory glare. For a split second, Frisk contemplated running for it, but Monster Kid's sweater wouldn't hold him for long. Without another moment to lose, Frisk dove for Monster Kid, grabbing him as best they could and heaved him back onto the bridge. Undyne paused mid step, as if surprised by Frisk's choice of action.

"You okay?" Frisk asked, panting slightly from adrenaline and exhaustion.

"Y-yeah." Monster Kid panted.

Undyne took a step forward, arm outstretched as if to grab Frisk. However, Monster Kid quick got in between Undyne and Frisk.

"Monster Kid?" Frisk whispered in utter shock. "What are you-?"

"St-stay behind me." He whispered back, the fear he felt evident in his voice. "I-if Undyne w-wants to get t-to you, t-their g-gonna have to g-go through m-me."

Undyne stared down the small child, and then Frisk with their glowing green pupil. The suit took a step back, and a loud snort echoed before they turned around slowly and marched away. Frisk couldn't help but sigh in relief, a gesture that was mirrored by Monster Kid.

"They're gone." He said, surprised by the turn of events.

"Yeah." Frisk replied, getting back to their feet. "Thanks for saving me."

"Yo, I should be thanking you!" Monster Kid replied, turning to Frisk. "You saved me first! It's the least I could do!"

Frisk chuckled, then smiled.

"So, can we be friends instead of enemies?" they asked.

Monster Kid grinned.

"Totally!" he agreed. "Undyne may be a hero, but I think they were wrong about you. You can't be an evil human if you risked your life to save me."

The two of them laughed a bit, then Monster Kid sighed.

"Man, I should really go home. I bet my parents are worried sick."

Frisk nodded, watching as Monster Kid carefully reached the end of the bridge without incident.

"Bye Monster Kid!" Frisk called, waving goodbye.

"Bye Frisk!" Monster Kid replied. "And good luck with Undyne!"


	6. Undyne

Frisk walked towards a large tunnel that seemed to lead deeper into the underground. The ground was hazy around it, and a dry heat seemed to emanate from these caves.

"This must be the tunnel to Hotland Gerson mentioned." Frisk said to themselves. "I'm almost home."

As Frisk took a step forward, they heard a familiar clanking noise. However, rather than coming from behind them, it seemed to come from above them. With a gulp, Frisk looked up, spotting the familiar shape of Undyne staring down at them.

"Undyne." Frisk gasped.

The figure loomed over Frisk, it's glowing green eye staring down from the high mountain top. The cave ceiling glowing red from the distant hotland, the air already thick with the smell of sulfur and magma. Undyne's eye glittered, sparkling with a hatred that Frisk had not seen since Snowdin. Frisk couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Seven…" Undyne's deep voice echoed, "Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god…"

"Human souls?" Frisk repeated, a cold fear rising in their stomach. "What do you mean by Human souls?"

"Six" Undyne replied, their voice echoing in the cave. "That's how many we have collected thus far."

Frisk's eyes went wide. From history, Frisk knew that seven children had gone missing near Mount Ebott. It wasn't hard to figure out that they had ended up in the Underground. But if what Undyne was saying was true, then that meant that-

"They're dead..." Frisk realized. "You took their souls, and you killed them."

"Then you understand." Undyne retorted, "Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. But first, however, as it is customary for those who make it this far… I shall tell you the tale of our people. Long ago, before we sank beneath the surface we-"

The words interrupted as Undyne seemed to hiss. Frisk just barely made out the faint click of their teeth clenching, followed by their hand forming a tight fist. Throwing their arm back, Undyne formed a large harpoon, slamming the hilt of it into the ground while returning their dominating stare to Frisk.

"No!" Undyne shouted, their voice shaking the very earth around them. "Screw that! Why should I tell you the story when you are just going to die at my hand?!"

Undyne let out a roar that sent shivers down Frisk's spine. That's when Undyne's other hand grasped the harpoon, aiming it directly at Frisk.

"You! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books blinded me into thinking you humans were cool, with your giant robots and flowery swordswomen, but you!" Undyne's eye narrowed in the shadows of the helmet. "You are just a coward. You hid behind that kid, just so you could run away from me yet again!"

A loud scream erupted from Undyne again as the harpoon left their hand and flew down to the pathway. It struck the earth, the ground cratering from the sheer force of the throw. Frisk was knocked off their feet, where they crawled back in fright.

"Undyne, please!" Frisk screamed. "I'm not your enemy! I just want to go home!"

The helmet hissed again, scoffing at Frisk's request.

"And let's not forget your wimpy, goody-two shoes shtick…" Undyne said, disdain dripping from their voice. " 'Ooooh! I'm making such a difference by- Hugging Random Strangers!' Disgusting!"

Frisk felt a small wave of anger slip through the crippling fear. Frisk had never liked bullies, and Undyne was slowly starting to sound like one.

"If you really want to help us…" Undyne snarled. "You know what would be more valuable to everyone?"

Undyne took a step towards the edge of the cave, their foot leaving and dropping as they stepped off the edge. The large, armored beast fell with blinding speed before crashing onto the ground with a thunderous boom. Dust whipped around them as they stood back up, standing in the sandy cloud like a hero from a comic book. The helmet slowly turned to Frisk, and the green glimmer returned slowly. A large hand reached forward, grasping and removing the harpoon from the ground. Undyne lifted it high above their head, spinning rapidly before aiming it at Frisk.

"If you were dead!" Undyne shouted. "That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime and your life is all that stands between the monsters and freedom! Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Now human, let's end this right here, right now! I want to see you bleed in my grasp!"

Undyne released one hand from the harpoon and slowly lifted it to their helmet, gripping it hard from the top. The hand twisted, the helmet jerked to the side and Undyne slowly pulled the helmet off. The first thing Frisk noticed was the blue scales that made up the monster's skin. Fin-like ears with reddish skin flapped slightly as a piercing green, slitted eye was revealed. Undyne only had one eye, but that wasn't the most surprising thing to be revealed. Undyne had strikingly long red hair wrapped in a black hairband to make a ponytail. Her smile was made of sharp, jagged yellow teeth that seemed to knash at Frisk.

"Undyne…" Frisk spoke softly, shocked by Undyne's reveal, "Is a...ga-girl?"

Undyne stopped for a moment, blinking rapidly.

"What?! Of course I'm a girl! You stupid human! What else would I be?!" Undyne snarled, "First you prevent the dreams of all monsters coming true, then you have the gonads to insult me to my face! That is it! No Mercy! Fuhuhuhuhuhu!"

Undyne lifted the spear on again, but this time lifting it high over her shoulder.

"En Guarde, Human!"

The spear launched, striking Frisk hard in the stomach. The blow knocked Frisk back a few inches, but surprisingly, they remained on their feet. Frisk gasped, feeling their stomach for a wound. Surprisingly though, there was no wound. Instead, the large glowing harpoon in their chest simply faded, leaving no trace it was ever there.

"Huh?" Frisk whispered, "What happened?"

Then, a brief red glow began to shine from Frisk's chest. Frisk looked down as the red heart that represented their soul appeared. However, the calming red glow was soon replaced with a bright green glow.

"What the heck-"

"Fuhuhuhuhu! Foolish human, you can not escape justice!" Undyne's hand extended again, created another large harpoon made of glowing white energy. "Prepare to die, fuhuhu!"

Frisk began to look around, Undyne blocking much of their view with her huge armor set. Frisk took a deep breath, puffing out their chest with false bravado. Undyne smirked as she prepared to throw the harpoon. Frisk watched with careful eye as the harpoon was hefted over Undyne's shoulder again. The arm reeled back and Frisk's eyes widened. The arm lunged forward, and Frisk leaped forward as the harpoon glided over their head and Frisk rolled underneath Undyne's legs.

"The heck!" Undyne shouted as Frisk rolled back to their feet.

It was then that the sight of a large iron door came into view, the words "WARNING - HOT!" carved into the outside of the door. Frisk gleamed as they began to run towards the large door, Undyne spun around, their arm extended again as another harpoon formed. Frisk was getting closer to the door, the handles began to become clear. Suddenly, Frisk's legs stopped and they tripped in the hard soil in front of a line cut into the earth.

"What is this?" Frisk asked as they got back up, and looked around them.

It became all too clear what Undyne was speaking about with the greenness of their heart. Frisk couldn't leave the ring that Undyne had made. Any attempt would be met with the same trip failure they had made.

"Nice try Human…" Undyne smiled. "Don't say I didn't warn you! Fuhuhuhuhu!"

"A barrier." Frisk realized. "Like those invisible dog fences."

Realizing there was no chance of escape, Frisk stood their ground.

"I have to get Undyne to break this barrier, but how?" They wondered.

Undyne rose the spear, spinning it over their head once again before gripping the end and swinging it at Frisk. Frisk's eyes widen and quickly jumped over, the harpoon rushing underneath them and into a nearby rock formation. The rocks shattered as the harpoon struck them, and Frisk landed on both their feet. Undyne drove the harpoon through the rocks before spinning it again with one hand to her side.

"You're a quick little human. I haven't had a challenge from your kind be-" Undyne lunged at Frisk "-FORE!"

Frisk's eyes narrowed, leaping back as the harpoon drove into the ground and Undyne tripped to her knees. Frisk ran towards Undyne, stepping onto the harpoon as Undyne released the harpoon. Her hand reaching out to grab Frisk, just as Frisk leapt over Undyne and landing behind her. Undyne snarled before clenching her hand and slamming on the energy spear, causing it to shatter then reform in her hand.

"Pesky human. I demand you stay still…" Undyne said, as sweat began to run down her blue scaled skin, "So I can kill you for all the monsters!"

Frisk grinned, then they stuck their tongue out, waggling their fingers in their ears.

"Nyeh nyeh nyeh-nyeh nyeh!" Frisk taunted.

Undyne's teeth formed into a scowl, gnashing together tightly as the female fish person stood up with the new harpoon in their hand.

"Gah! Fancy footwork, human!" Undyne snarled, "But that won't stop me from my special attacks!"

Undyne's gnashing teeth shifted into a grin as her eyes began to glow brightly with blue lightning energy. Her arms extended from her and the air began to feel heavy as electricity danced around them.

"Prepare! Harpoon Fever!" Suddenly, ten harpoons appeared around Undyne. "Face the Wrath of Monsters!"

The first of the harpoons flew at great speed. Frisk rolled out of the way of one as it smashed into the ground where they stood before rolling back as another smashed. Channeled the few years of gymnastics they had taken, Frisk rolled into a handstand before getting back onto their feet. They were able to rest for about a second before being forced to jump up again as the third harpoon flew underneath them. After jumped, they went flat on their stomach, ducking just in time to avoid the fourth flying over their head. Frisk broke out into a run, skirting along the edge of the circle,as the fifth, sixth, and seventh harpoons charged towards them. Frisk then noticed the large door from before as the eighth smashed into the ground, knocking Frisk on their face.

Frisk looked up as the ninth heaved forward, and quickly got to their feet as the harpoon flew behind them. Undyne hissed again.

"Hold still human! I just wanna hit ya!"

The tenth harpoon flew true at Frisk, who then ducked as the harpoon slammed into the door. The energy shook the large iron doors, the chains blocking the handles rattled. Frisk looked at the locks and smiled.

"That might work." They thought.

Frisk positioned themselves between the door and Undyne, taunting the warrior with every childish name and face they could think of.

"Come on!" They screamed. "I've seen babies with better aim than you!"

Undyne scowled, her sharp yellow teeth bearing as she formed yet another spear in her hand. This one grew to a much larger size than the others she'd created, causing Frisk's facade of bravery to slip slightly.

"Uh-oh." Frisk whispered.

Undyne's eye took on a bluish, lightning-like aura as she looked at Frisk, bending her knees and raising the spear above her head.

"I'll end you, human!" She leapt high into the air, spinning the spear quickly over her head. "Now! Face my wrath!"

The spear came down, striking the ground hard. The earth shook violently, the spear erupting into a large explosion of light as a crater formed underneath Undyne. Frisk was thrown back by threw mighty burst of energy, striking the edge of the barrier with a painful crack before falling face first on to the hard stone ground.

"This is it human…" Undyne said as she stood her full height. "This is where you die. This is where you stop being such a nuisance and actually do something good in your life. This is where you help achieve what all monsters dream!"

Undyne's hand rose high above her head, a ball of blue energy forming into a spear of gigantic size. Her hand grasped it, the gargantuan weapon nearly twice her own size. She rested it on her shoulder as the lightning aura returned to her eye.

"This is where I win and you lose!" She taunted as she heaved the spear at Frisk, "So give up now!"

It sailed through the air as Frisk turned their head forward. Their eyes lighting up with the glow of the spear came closer to them. With what little energy they had, they rolled to the side. Undyne's eyes widened as the spear flew passed Frisk.

"No! Stop!" Undyne cried, watching the spear as it continued through the air, "Stop!"

The spear hit the door, the sound unlike anything Frisk had heard before. It was a loud eruption of noise, a combination of metal twisting and turning, as well as an almost deafening bang. Frisk looked behind them to see the entrance to the Hotland blown to shrapnel, the only remnants of the door being the warped hinges.

As both Undyne and Frisk stared at the door, Frisk felt a sudden lightness on their chest. Looking down, they gasped as the green aura that had overtaken their soul slowly pixelating away, returning the floating heart to its original bright red.

"Yes!" Frisk exclaimed.

They quickly got to their feet, as Undyne looked in pure shock at the damaged door. Frisk began running, deeper into the cave as Undyne's head lowered. Her teeth bearing again as she stood up slowly. Panic running through their mind as they ran deeper into the cave, sweat dripping down their face. Frisk looked down at their sweater, seeing the barbs and tears in it now. Their vision only illuminated by a scrolling neon sign which read "HOTLAND - WARNING HOT LAND AHEAD!". Suddenly, a voice screamed in anger behind Frisk.

"Human!" Frisk froze, looking over their shoulder. "Stop resisting right now!"

Frisk's eyes widened and they quickly returned to their dead sprint towards the end of the cave. Undyne frowned before holding out her hand.

"So be it Human." She said, her voice silently echoing. "Just know you did this to Yourself!"

A spear formed quickly and with a quick lunge, it sailed into the air. Frisk looked over their shoulder once again just as the large spear hit their back, knocking them to the ground. Shivering slightly, Frisk pushed themselves from the ground as their red heart flickered again.

"Oh no." Frisk murmured as they felt that same heaviness overtake them.

Undyne's footsteps echoed like thunder in the small cave, approaching again with another spear in her hand.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She said, raising the spear over Frisk.

Frisk thought frantically, trying to figure out how to free themselves from the barrier. In desperation, they dove forward, grabbing at Undyne's legs. Undyne looked down, her serious expression fading to one of confusion.

"Hey, what are you-" She raised her foot up, with Frisk hugging onto it. "Get- get off! Get off! Get off of me! You are beneath me! Stop! STOP!"

Undyne shaking her leg wildly. Frisk clutching for dear life as Undyne continued swinging wildly.

"I said, Get-" Frisk's arms finally gave, sending them into the air. "Off of me!"

Undyne's leg met with Frisk's stomach, the force taking the air from Frisk's lungs as they soared through the air. They struck the barrier hard again before falling to the ground. While pain lanced through their body, Frisk realized something. When they hit the barrier, it had bent slightly. It seemed to weaken when Undyne was distracted.

Knowing that there was a way to break this barrier and escape from Undyne filled Frisk with determination. Undyne smirked, the spear still firm within her grasp. She raised the spear once more over her shoulder, and her eyes sparked.

"Now! Re-prepare for your death again human!" She said, "This is for reals this time!"

Frisk stood up, as Undyne reeled her arm back. The spear sparked with blue lightning and crackled loudly as Frisk looked around for some kind of defense. Unfortunately, all they could find were some small rocks scattered around the ground. Grabbing one, Frisk threw it at Undyne tossed the spear with immense force. The two projectiles collided and a wave of energy erupted before exploding, one that sent the two combatants flying in opposite directions. Frisk slowly stood up, their clothes covered in dirt and sweat as they looked towards Undyne.

Undyne slowly stood up as well, recovering quickly from her blow. A sly smile covering her face as she readjusted her eyepatch.

"That was entertaining, human. You got guts, I'll give you that. But you can't run from me forever! Nothing will stop me! Noth-"

The sound of cracking stone interrupted her thoughts as the ceiling collapsed, creating a large barricade of dust and stones between her and Frisk. Frisk stared at the large pile for a moment, then down at their chest, seeing the green heart fade back to red. They let out a sigh of relief as they stood up, then immediately winced in pain.

"Oww." Frisk whimpered, as they tried to loosen their body

Frisk slowly began to walk away from the rubble, their body feeling bruised and battered all over. It was then that the great stone collapse began to shift and groan. Dust burst forth from points all along the wall, large stones cracking and large portions suddenly rolling. A fist then burst through the dirt and rock, clad thick in armor before being slowly pulled away as the middle of the collapse crumbled and revealed the armored Undyne.

"Get back here." Undyne panted, her eye glowing with lightning.

Frisk gasped as the form seemed uninjured from the blow. Sweat dripping from their brow, Frisk turned and ran down the cavern. Even from where they were, Frisk could make out the end of the tunnel glowing a bright red, the sound of flowing magma echoing off the stone, along with the loud stomping of Undyne pursuing them.

"Human! Stop resisting!" Her voice of pure anger and savagery echoed, "You'll only make it harder in the end for both of us."

Frisk ignored her, continuing forward as the cave opened up. Suddenly, hot air filled Frisk's throat, causing them to gag as the taste of soot and smoky air filled their lungs. A rickety bridge stood ahead of Frisk, swaying in the hot glow of the magma below. Frisk paused for a moment, looking at the bridge with skepticism. It groaned and shook as a board broke free and fell into the magma below. Frisk clutched their sweater, stumbling back with fear when the clomping echo of the armored soldier reminded Frisk that turning around was no option.

Frisk whimpered, but stepped ahead. Their foot hit the rotten wood of the bridge as their hands gripped onto the ropes tightly. Taking every step with as much caution as they could, Frisk began to cross the bridge slowly With each step, Frisk heard a new sound and new shift in the bridge, causing them to fear the boards would go out beneath them. It wasn't until Frisk reached the other side of the bridge that they noticed how quiet everything was. Confused, and more than a bit nervous, Frisk looked over their shoulder.

There, at the mouth of the cave, stood Undyne. Her face a bright red, with her panting as she tried to tug the neckline of her chest plate away from herself. Her breath became raspy as she stared across the bridge. Her hands then gripped the ropes, her large foot stepping onto the bridge. The bridge warped down, and the wood groaned and screamed under her weight.

"Human...I-" Undyne panted violently, stepping closer and closer to Frisk. "I- will not stop- until I- have you- in my-"

Her face now a bright, violent pink and her voice hoarse and raspy. Her hand reached out, slowly approaching closer and closer before finally gently gripping the tattered collar of Frisk's sweater. Frisk flinched as Undyne's face broke into a smile.

"...Grasp."

Undyne's eyes then rolled back and she collapsed face down in front of Frisk, her grip never loosening on Frisk's sweater.

"Undyne?"

The fish woman didn't respond. In fact, aside from of thready wheezing, Undyne did absolutely nothing. Frisk was about to panic when all of a sudden, their phone rang. Frisk tried to get to it, but couldn't pinned as they were. With a bit of maneuvering, Frisk managed to wiggle free of their sweater, revealing a similarly patterned tee-shirt underneath. Now free, Frisk grabbed their phone and answered it.

"H-hello?" Frisk answered.

"HUMAN!" A familiar voice chimed from the phone. "GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HERE TO ASK YOU A QUESTION! I BEGAN THINKING THAT YOU AND UNDYNE COULD BE GOOD FRIENDS! BOTH OF YOU ARE STRONG, AND BRAVE, AND COOL LIKE MYSELF AND-"

"Papyrus!" Frisk suddenly interrupted. "How soon can you get to Hotland?!"

"HOTLAND?" Papyrus quizzically asked, "I WAS ACTUALLY JUST FINISHING MY JOG THERE AND WAS HEADING HOME! WHY DO YOU ASK?"

"Undyne's passed out, and I don't know what to do!" Frisk cried. "Please help!"  
"DON'T YOU FRET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE JUST THE SOLUTION." The call ended with a loud click, and Frisk waited.

It took a few moments, but eventually Papyrus arrived. He was wearing a headband, with a hoodie, and shorts with large tennis shoes. A pair of headphones dangled on the sides of his skull as if floating in air.

"Papyrus!" Frisk shouted, running towards the tall skeleton. "Hurry!"

Frisk pulled her friend over to where Undyne was, her hand still gripping hard on her sweater. Papyrus held his hand to his chin and rubbed it quizzically.

"ALRIGHT HUMAN!" Papyrus said, "FOLLOW MY LEAD! WE NEED TO REMOVE THE ARMOR AND CARRY HER BACK HOME! LET US START WITH HER GAUNTLET!"

Papyrus shook Undyne's arm gently, back and forth then up and down before finally the hand released. He then slid the glove off, revealing her bright red skin causing Frisk to wince at the sight.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Frisk asked nervously.

"SHE HAS HEALED FROM FAR WORSE!" He said, his smile encouraging Frisk, "NYEH HEH!"

Papyrus grabbed the straps on her shoulders and undid them, then the straps around her waist and ankles before turning to Frisk with a nod. Frisk nodded back, and the two began peeling the armor piece by piece. Her scales seared bright red and covered in sweat.

"GRAB HER BY THE FEET, HUMAN!" Papyrus called, "WE SHALL CARRY HER HOME! SANS WILL GRAB HER ARMOR AND FOLLOW US! I JUST CALLED HIM!"

Frisk looked at Papyrus, then at Undyne.

"Papyrus, I can't lift her." They said after a moment. "Sorry.

Papyrus patted Frisk on the head, then bent down to pick Undyne up himself. As he lifted her, he looked down at Frisk.

"YOU SHOULD COME WITH ME! ONCE SHE LEARNS YOU HELPED SAVE HER, SHE'LL THINK YOU ARE SO GREAT THAT SHE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BEFRIEND YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk didn't think that was possible, but found it impossible to question Papyrus' boundless enthusiasm.

"Alright." Frisk said after a moment. "I'll come."

"GREAT!" Papyrus chimed, and the two walked back through the cave.

…

Undyne slowly opened her eye, a strange coolness on their head as a cool breeze blew across her body. She her vision cleared, she realized she was laying on her couch, in her house. She saw Papyrus standing over her, fanning her with that looked like the edge of his scarf. His brother Sans was asleep on her arm chair, the remains of a blue and pink sweater draped over him like a blanket.

"Papyrus?" she asked, slowly sitting up. "What are you doing?"

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus called, dropping his scarf as he looked at Undyne, "YOU ARE ALIVE AND WELL! THANKS TO-"

That's when Frisk closed the door to Undyne's closet, alerting Undyne to their presence. The fish woman turned to them, growling in utter hatred and disdain.

"And what are you doing in MY house!?" Undyne snarled, her teeth bearing violently as she glared down Frisk.

Frisk immediately hid behind Papyrus as the tall skeleton shielded his friend.

"FRISK SAVED YOU AFTER YOU PASSED OUT IN HOTLAND!" Papyrus said boldly, Sans suddenly behind Papyrus flapping his cape. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAPPENED TO BE JOGGING AND SAW THE WHOLE THING! A TRULY AMAZING SPECTACLE-"

"Yeah," Sans added, "It was pretty not bad."

"THE HUMAN LIFTED YOU WITH BUT ONE HAND!" Papyrus chimed, "AND CARRIED YOU ALL THE WAY HERE! I LEAD THEM HERE SO WE COULD TAKE CARE OF YOU-"

Frisk gave a cough.

"Actually, I just asked Papyrus to help." Frisk admitted. "But I did put the washcloth on your head."

Undyne yanked the washcloth off her head, tossing it at Frisk. Frisk ducked and the cloth slapped against the wall. A cricket chirped loudly, as silence fell across the room.

"UNDYNE, HUMAN FRISK, IT WOULD SEEM I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MUST GO TO THE BATHROOM! AND MY KEEN BROTHER SENSES SAY THAT SANS DOES AS WELL" Papyrus suddenly announced. "HAVE FUN!"

"Wait, I do?-" Sans spoke up, but seemingly ignored by Papyrus.

Papyrus then scooped up his brother, tucking him under his arm before running in a dead sprint towards the window. Papyrus then leaped through the still closed window, shattering the glass before and the two brothers crashed through the window before rolling out of sight. Undyne looked out the window, an eyebrow raised as the cricket continued chirping.

"I should probably-" Frisk began, before a spear hit the ground next to them.

"You're not going anywhere, punk!" Undyne snarled.

Frisk would have been scared, but by now, they were hurt, exhausted, and frankly tired of being scared.

"Undyne, I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm not that bad if you got to know me." Frisk smiled.

Undyne just snorted.

"You're right, I don't believe you!" she snarled. "Humans are evil, and I will never, ever, trust one! Now get out of my house!"

Before Frisk could reply, Papyrus stuck his head back in through the broken window.

"AWWW, THAT'S TOO BAD! I THOUGHT YOU AND UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS! I GUESS SHE WASN'T UP TO THE… CHALLENGE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Undyne seemed to pause at the word challenge. Papyrus then shot Frisk a wink before disappearing again.

"Not up to the challenge?!" Undyne murmured, standing with a thousand yard stare.

Frisk gingerly glanced back to the door leading outside, and to the tall, well muscled fishwoman standing before them.

"Maybe I should-"

Before Frisk could think about completing their thought, Undyne's eye began to glow with that familiar lightning energy.

"Is that what he thinks?! Well, I'll show him!" She grabbed Frisk, eliciting a yelp from them as she gave them a large, toothy grin. "We're not just going to be friends! We're going to be-"

Frisk gulped heavily, just as Undyne threw them onto the soft leathers of the couch with a loud flop. Frisk grabbed themselves in a hug as Undyne's grin widened, her yellow teeth seeming to grow sharper with her smile.

"-Besties!" Frisk blinked in confusion as Undyne rubbed her hands together, "It's the perfect revenge!"

Frisk slid off the couch, hoping to try and escape from the mad fish woman.

"Maybe I should get going with Papyrus and-"

Their escape attempt was met with Undyne's hand grabbing them by the collar.

"Nonsense!" Undyne boisterously shouted, smiling as she pivoted away from the broken window. "Why don't you take a seat and- And- I'll make you some tea!"

Undyne walked towards the kitchen table, where two well-built chairs sat tucked under the table. Undyne looked at the chair annoyed, unable to pull it out as her hands were busy carrying the human. She bared her teeth, glaring at the chair.

"Nothing that I can't fix." Undyne softly murmured.

With a blindingly fast kick, the table seemed to scrape against the linoleum away from the chair which remained in its original position.

"Perfect!" Undyne said, as she dropped Frisk in the chair.

Undyne then walked over to the fridge, bending over as she opened to fridge door. There were clear signs of dents and scratch marks all over the handle, childish doodle-drawings that almost looked like blueprints of things from various cartoons and animes covering the door.

Undyne then stood up, her arms folded around a pile of different items. Frisk looked surprised by the massive amount of stuff she was carrying. Her foot hit the fridge door hard, causing another dent as she pivoted to the counter, closing the door as she did and dropping the pile down in front of her. She rummaged through all of the stuff before apparently finding what she wanted.

"Yellow flower tea alright?" She asked, as she grabbed a box with a yellow flower on it.

"I- I guess?" Frisk replied, slightly sinking into her t-shirt like a turtle.

"Good." Undyne said, seemingly mocking joy as she turned to the stove.

There was an awkward silence as Undyne waited for the water to boil. Undyne seemed to watch the kettle intently, her sharp-nailed hand tapping hard against the counter top.

"You know… Yellow flower tea is Asgore's favorite." Undyne spoke up, shattering the silence.

Frisk gulped at the mention of the monster king. After hearing about the deaths of the other children that had fallen down here, Frisk was more than a little nervous about meeting them.

"Is-is that so?" Frisk asked, trying to keep a brave face.

"Yeah." Undyne said, turning to lean back against the counter. "You know, you kind of remind me of him."

"I- I do?" Frisk stuttered, causing Undyne to grin again.

"Uh-huh." It was then Undyne's grin became a full smile again. "You're both total weenies!"

Frisk blinked in surprise at the insult as Undyne crossed her arms. Chuckling at her own joke, she shook her head at bit as her laughter died.

"Well, sort of." She amended.

Frisk was a bit confused as Undyne seemed to recall something.

"Y'know, I was a pretty hot headed kid." she began. "Once, to prove I was tough, I tried to fight Asgore."

Frisk froze, feeling her skin go white with fear.

"You- you tried to fight- Asgore?!"

Undyne just snorted.

"If you wanna call it fighting, I guess. I couldn't land a single blow on him! And worse, the whole time we fought, he refused to fight back!"

Frisk blinked, now confused by the tale that Undyne was speaking of. The tales of the big-bad-monster-king seemed to be so different now. On one hand, he'd killed innocent kids, and on the other, he seemed to be some sort of softie.

"After totally embarrassing myself, Asgore just looked at me with this big, dumb grin." Undyne continued "He said I was a good fighter, and that I had great potential. And then, he asks me 'Do you want to know how to beat me up?' After that he trained me, and now I'm captain of the royal guard!"

The kettle began to scream loudly, causing Undyne's glassy stare to return to her hardened look. She turned swiftly on her heel and grabbed two mugs from the side. Not even bothering with a hot pad, she grabbed the kettle and filled the cups, splashing the broiling liquid all over the floor as she approached the table. She looked down at the second chair, still tucked into the table like Frisk's chair looked down again at the two mugs and growled as her leg came up, barely skimming over Frisk's head and striking the back of the chair, which screeched backwards on the tile. Frisk gulped hard as Undyne sat on the chair and slid one of the mugs to Frisk. Frisk looked down at the mug, it was filled with a black, oily colored tea that smelled of buttercups.

"So- umm- Asgore is the reason you're so- ummm- strong, right?" Frisk asked quietly as Undyne sipped her tea.

"Yep!" Undyne replied. "Now it's my job to train dorks to fight!"

"You mean like Papyrus?"

Undyne seemed to falter at that. Her ear fins dropped as her hands cupped around the tea cup. She brought it up for a long, awkward sip before placing it down with a sigh.

"Look kid. I'll be honest with you, but you have to swear never to tell a word of this to Papyrus."

Frisk gave a tentative nod as Undyne took a deep breath.

"Papyrus is strong, don't get me wrong. I've seen him fight. It's just… he's too innocent and nice! I mean, look at you! He was supposed to capture you, and instead he became your friend!"

Her long nails tapped the sides of her cup remorsefully as her eyes seemed to ooze guilt and regret.

"I could never send him into battle, much less allow him to become a member of the royal guard." she admitted, "He'd be torn apart into little smiling bits."

"Then why train him?" Frisk asked.

Undyne just snorted as her face seemed to light up again.

"I'm teaching him how to cook, not how to fight!"

Frisk blinked in confusion, their hands wrapped around the still boiling mug.

"Wait, you're the one who taught Papyrus how to cook?" Frisk said, as the mug finally touched their lips.

"Yep! I taught him everything." Frisk blinked at the deliciousness of the tea, taking another sip. "How to make the sauce, how to boil the noodles, how to make it taste real good. Yup, we're always cooking together, everyday at-"

Undyne suddenly looked above Frisk, who froze mid sip of their tea, as her eyes locked on with the clock.

"Wait a minute-"

Undyne stood up quickly, the chair falling back with a loud crash. Frisk jumped at the sound, Undyne grabbed the tea cup and quickly poured all the tea into her mouth before throwing it out the already broken window.

"Papyrus! Spaghetti! His cooking lesson!"

"What?" Frisk asked nervously. Undyne then looked at Frisk.

"Papyrus' cooking lesson was supposed to start right now! Where did Papyrus go!"

Frisk just shrugged as Undyne growled. She then got an idea as she gleamed down at Frisk, her yellow teeth grinning from fin to fin.

"Well, if he's not here to have it, then you will have to do!"

With no effort, she jumped high into the air and cleared the room while doing a number of flips before landing onto the counter, then swiftly kicking aside the various tea boxes and the tea kettle off of the surface.

"Yes!" she bellowed, standing up with her arms pumped. "Nothing has brought Papyrus and me together more than cooking, and if you take his lesson for him, we'll be even closer to being besties!"

She then leapt from the counter and onto the table, the wood groaning as Frisk leapt back in fear. Undyne then swiftly grabbed Frisk by their t-shirt and spun around before jumping over her fallen chair and onto the kitchen tile. Frisk shivered violently as she set them down onto the kitchen floor before looking up to Undyne.

"You ready, punk?" Undyne asked, grinning widely "It's spaghetti time!"

Undyne then raised up her foot and stomped hard, causing the whole house to shake violently as vegetables rained onto the countertop. Frisk looked up at the ceiling, blinking as Undyne rubbed her hands together gleefully.

"Umm, I don't think-" Frisk began.

"First, the sauce!" Undyne interrupted, completely ignoring Frisk's distress.

Undyne then threw an onion up in the air and, with a swifter than sight chop, caused the onion to become deskinned and fall apart into a large sauce pan. Frisk stared in surprise as they attempted to lift themselves higher to get a better look.

"How'd you do that?!" Frisk spoke in awe, as Undyne laughed heartily.

"I just imagine these vegetables are my worst enemy!" Undyne explained. "You give it a shot!"

Frisk squinted at the vegetables, their eyes becoming like two solid lines. Just then, they began to hear laughter and name calling. Their hands balled up in rage, Undyne nodded as her grin widened.

"That's it punk!" Undyne said and pointed at the tomato "Now, pound them into dust!"

Frisk's eyes reopened and their hand rose up, their anger and rage forced into one point as it came down onto the counter, gently rolling a tomato further away from them. There was an awkward silence.

"That's the spirit!" Undyne told them. "Now it's my turn!"

She brought both of her fists down on the vegetables, sending their splattered remains flying all across the kitchen, and the two 'cooks'. Undyne wiped tomato sauce out of her eye as Frisk pulled onion chunks from their hair.

"Heh…" Undyne said, picking larger chunks of squashed vegetables from her face. "Well, we'll just scrape that into a bowl later."

She brought her foot down again with a thunderous crash. From the aether above them, a large pot and a box of noodles crashed onto the stove with a loud bang.

"Now it's time for the noodles!" she announced. "While homemade noodles are the best, I use the store bought kind. They're the cheapest!"

She handed the box, which read "MTT BRAND NOODLES!", to Frisk. Undyne gave an expectant grin as Frisk looked at the box. Their hand quickly ripped the lid off and they threw the whole box into the pot. Undyne pumped her arms as the pasta clattered against the bottom of the empty pot.

"Now you've got it!" Undyne exclaimed, pulling the box out of the pan before dumping the remains of the water from the kettle into the pot.

"Now, the most important part of cooking pasta…" Again, as if pulling from an unknown space, Undyne drew a large wooden spoon from nowhere. "Stirring!"

She then grabbed Frisk by their shirt, pulling them into the air so their could easily reach the pot. Undyne then began stirring the pot as Frisk looked up at her.

"Come on, punk!" Undyne said, "I know you've stirred a pot before. When you do this, you got to be as Fast! And as Loud! As possible! It's super important! Now stir!"

Frisk grasped the wooden spoon and began stirring the pasta, it was easy at first. Undyne pumped her arms, getting into the moment as she continued to yell 'Faster!' over and over. Frisk's rhythm sped up with each command, but it never seemed to be good enough. Then, they felt the webbed hands of Undyne grasp their own..

"No, no, no…" Undyne seemed to sigh out of anger, "Let me show you!"

Undyne summoned up a spear and began stabbing at the pot, denting the metal and misshaping the pot into a strange, formless mass of metal. Frisk looked at the pot, wondering just how many pots Undyne went through in a day.

"Now!" Undyne said, the spear disappearing into the void. "To cook the pasta!"

Undyne grabbed Frisk once more, holding them up so they could reach the knobs on the stove.

"Let the stovetop represent your passion!" Undyne exclaimed. "Let your hopes and dreams turn into a burning fire!"

Frisk began to turn it, at first they had placed it at 350 degrees but Undyne looked disappointed.

"Hotter!" Undyne demanded

Frisk began to turn the knob until it passed where it said off, and the flame only continued to grow with each turn. Frisk's brow began to sweat as flames ran up the side of the pot, Undyne just shouting 'Hotter! Hotter!' in Frisk's ear. The flame soon engulfed the pot, the dial clicked loudly and the knob broke from the stove. The two only looked at each other, and gulped.

"Uh-oh." They spoke in unison.

Undyne instinctively hugged Frisk shielding them as the stove exploded, flames engulfing everything in sight. When Undyne finally let Frisk go, the entire house was ablaze. Frisk looked around, then up at Undyne remorsefully.

"Sorry." Frisk mumbled.

Undyne just sighed.

"It's not your fault." She muttered, wiping soot off her face. "I should have known this would never work. I can't force you to like me, or to be my friend."

"Undyne-"

"Still, this works out in the end!" she declared, glaring down at Frisk. "If we can't be friends, then I can destroy you without any remorse!"

She summoned up a spear as Frisk's soul appeared in the center of their chest. They gulped hard as Undyne pointed her spear at Frisk.

"I've been defeated, my house is in shambles, I've even failed to befriend you." She lamented. "With everything that's happened, I don't care if you are Papyrus' friend!"

She then planted her spear in the ground, pointing right at Frisk.

"Rematch. You, and me! All out on both sides, hold nothing back!"

"But I-"

"Now come at me!" Undyne screamed. "Attack me with everything you've got!"

It was obvious words would not calm Undyne down. Thinking quickly, Frisk ran towards Undyne, fist raised like they were going to attack. However, before they connected, they stopped short, just barely tapping Undyne in the stomach. Undyne looked down at Frisk, confusion etched on her face.

"That's it?" She asked. "That's the best you can do?"

Frisk just nodded.

"I don't want to fight you." Frisk explained. "I'm not some evil villain, or some destroyer of dreams. I'm just a kid who's trying to get home."

Undyne looked down at Frisk, meeting their eyes and properly seeing them for the first time. With a small chuckle, the spear in Undyne's hand faded away, along with Frisk's red heart.

"I believe you." she replied. "And truth is, I don't want to fight you either."

Undyne sighed before slowly approaching Frisk, who watched in confusion as her hand fell onto their head and began ruffling their hair.

"I'll admit, I hated you and your stupid saccharine schtick at first, but…" Undyne then smiled, her anger fading. "The way you hit me just now, it reminded me of someone special."

Undyne then landed a similar, playful punch into Frisk's arm before chuckling.

"You aren't just some wimpy loser." she said. "You're a wimpy loser with a big heart! Just like him..."

A piece of burning roof came falling down, reminding Undyne of the disaster that had occurred. As she began to look around her ruined house, she realized the fire was slowly getting bigger.

"Ummm, maybe we should get out of here." She said nervously, as a beam came crashing down onto her table.

With that, Undyne grabbed Frisk, tucking them under her arm before placing her free hand over her mouth. Again, her scales began to turn red as she glanced through the smoke.

"There!" Frisk said, pointing into the smoke. "The window Papyrus broke!"

Undyne began running for it, closing her eyes as she leaped out the window and landed flat onto the hard stone floor. She then placed Frisk down next to her as the two turned around slowly. The house was engulfed in flames, it original fishy exterior now looking like some sort of fiery fish monster. Undyne sighed before sitting down on the hard, stone floor. A silence followed as they just watched the house burn, one that felt like hours before Undyne spoke up.

"Listen, punk. It seems you and Asgore are fated to fight. But knowing him…" Undyne's eyes glassed over, "He probably doesn't want to. Talk to him. I'm sure you can persuade him to let you go home."

"But, what about the barrier, and that soul thing you mentioned?" Frisk asked. "Doesn't he need my soul to free you guys?"

"Eh, don't worry. Eventually some mean human will show up and I'll take their soul instead!" Undyne turned to Frisk, ruffling their hair again. "That makes sense, right?"

"Right." Frisk nodded.

Undyne then grabbed Frisk, making them face her as she turned deadly serious.

"Oh, and if you do hurt Asgore, I'll take the human souls, cross the barrier, and beat the hell out of you!"

Frisk gulped, but nodded.

"I don't think I could hurt Asgore if I tried, but I'll remember that."

"Good!" Undyne said, releasing Frisk and turning back to her house. "Well, looks like I'll need a place to stay. I wonder if Papyrus will let me sleep on his couch."

"Maybe? Why don't you give him a call?" Frisk asked,

"In a minute." Undyne replied, leaning against Frisk. "Let's just sit here for a bit."

Frisk settled onto the ground, leaning against Undyne for support. The fish woman didn't seem to mind, so Frisk got comfortable before slowly falling asleep. Undyne looked down at them with a shake of her head.

"Just like him..." She sighed, "Silly punk."


End file.
